ships in the night
by words-with-dragons
Summary: A collection of oneshots and drabbles set aboard The Waterbender and beyond. Companion fic to "Anchor" [Kai/Jinora] / Chapter 13: Kai runs off in Paradise. Yung runs after him. /
1. Captain

C.a.p.t.a.i.n.

* * *

 **Summary:** "I, uh, nearly took his eye out when we first met." / How Kai joined the crew and rose through the rankings, from Yung's eyes. Pre-Anchor oneshot.

* * *

 _C. cautious._

The knife came out of nowhere. Yung barely dodged it in time, whirling around to see the wielder, and his eyes (both, thankfully intact) widened: it was not a thug or mugger, like he had expected, or even a rival pirate. This was a young scrawny boy, with scraped up knees and a wild look in his bright green eyes. His messy dark hair was dirty (just like the rest of him, for that matter) and choppy, as if he had crudely cut it himself, which Yung suspected he had.

The long, curved knife clattered out of the boy's hand as he lost his balance and fell to his knees. His hand shot out for the hilt but Yung kicked it further away from him, before picking it up and looking down at the boy. The kid glared up at him, scrambling to his feet, his hands curled into tiny fists.

Yung stared at him, his brow furrowing. "Watcha doing out here, all alone?"

The boy's eyes darted from him and the exit of the alleyway, and then back to him. "Why do you care?" The boy's voice was quick and sharp just like his knife, but unlike the blade, it wobbled.

"You just seem a little young to be out here all alone," Yung said, taking a step forward. The boy took half a step back, eyeing him warily. His eyes, oddly enough, seem much older than his young face, and the contrast jarred him for a moment. The boy couldn't have been older than ten. "Where are your parents?"

The boy narrows his eyes. "Don't have any." Ah, an orphan. Well that explained most of it. Street rat too, by the looks of it, Yung reasoned. "If you're not going to attack me, can I have my knife back?"

Yung almost handed it over before he remembered. "Not so fast kiddo," Yung wagged his finger at the boy. "You were about to attack me a minute ago, you nearly took my eye out. Why's that?"

The boy threw him a dry stare, raising one eyebrow. "You do what you have to do on the streets, not what you want to."

Yung nodded. "Fair point. You got a name kid?" When the boy didn't say anything, Yung continued. "My name's Yung. I'm a pirate. I work on a ship called The Waterbender, you ever heard of it? It's run by Captain Zaheer." Yung wasn't quite sure why he was telling the boy this, but found himself unable to stop. The boy had relaxed now (or at least the tenseness in his shoulders had faded) but he still seemed ready to run at any moment, and Yung really didn't want him to run. "You ever been on a boat before?" The boy shook his head. "Would you like to?"

The boy threw him a puzzled look. "What?"

"I could show you the ship, if you'd like. Who knows, maybe you could even become Zaheer's cabin boy or something." Zaheer was going to eat him alive, but Yung couldn't bring himself to retract the offer. He himself had grown up on ships, his father a sailor, his mother having passed on when he was very young. It wasn't the most ideal place for a young boy, but it was better than the streets. Cautiously, the kid took a small step forward. Yung held out the knife and the boy's slim fingers closed around the hilt.

"My name's Kai," the boy said quietly, and for a moment his lips twitched upwards.

Yung smiled at him. "Nice to meet ya, Kai. Can I show you the ship now?"

Kai nodded, and Yung led him back to the docks. Zaheer gave it a vicious verbal lashing, before turning his glare onto Kai. "Are you handy with that knife boy?" Kai's face was strangely void of fear as he nodded again. "Prove it."

Kai rolled his eyes. "I'm not throwing away my only weapon when I'm surrounded by pirates."

Zaheer almost smiled. "Smart kid. You can stay. But next time I give you an order, you obey it, got it?" Kai nodded a final time, before Zaheer started shouting orders, giving the final word to Yung. "He's your responsibility Yung, so you better know what you're doing."

Kai stepped closer to Yung, looking up at him nervously. "Don't worry Captain, I know exactly what I'm doing."

 _A. alone._

In the five years Kai had been on the ship, Yung had never seen Kai cry. As the boy had gotten taller, and much less scrawnier (having three meals a day certainly helped) and settled into being a real part of the crew, and already quite a good swordsman, despite his young age, Yung had never seen him tear up. Not even when Kai had broken his wrist during a raid, and the pain of a broken bone had been enough to make Appa cry once.

So it was a shock, to say the least, when Yung came down for a glass of water, and found Kai crying at the dining hall table.

"Kai?"

Yung stepped quietly into the kitchen, and Kai began frantically wiping at his eyes. "I didn't realize you were up," Kai whispered, his voice thick with tears. "Sorry, I'll just-" He pushed up from the table and went to walk past Yung, when the pirate placed a hand on the young teen's shoulder, holding him in place.

"Sit, now." Grumbling, Kai sat down. His eyes were still glistening, his tear-streaked face more than visible even in the dark with only Yung's candle to provide any light. "Now, you're going to tell me what's wrong."

"Just a bad dream," Kai said, shrugging. "Honestly, it's nothing."

"I can tell when you're lying Kai," Yung sighed. "So please, respect me enough not to lie to me, would you? And you know, sometimes talking about your problems can help solve them."

"It…it's not that simple," Kai sniffled. "I - I don't want your pity," he continued, his voice growing stronger with every word. "Just because I saw my mother die, I-" he clamped his mouth shut, eyes widening as his shoulders shook. "I…" he looked horrified, burying his face in his hands.

"Kai…" Yung put a hand on his shoulder, but the teenager threw it off.

" _No_ , Yung." Kai stood up abruptly, tears rolling down his cheeks even as his eyes flashed in anger. "Y-you cannot tell anyone, do you understand me? Nobody's supposed to know what happened…" His shoulders slumped forwards as his anger evaporated, leaving him feeling even emptier than before. "I - I wish _I_ didn't know, I…" Whatever composure he had slipped through his fingers as he failed to choke back a sob.

Yung rubbed his back as the boy broke down, unsure of what to say, and simply letting him cry. Kai had never seemed so fragile before, and often enough Yung found it was easy to forget the boy's nine years of life before joining the crew, of how Kai must have suffered, growing up on the streets.

How he never really opened up to anyone about his past. That despite all this time, how alone Kai truly was, even now.

 _P. proud_

Kai was a prodigy, and it wasn't a word Yung used lightly. The kid had always been good with a knife, but no one had expected to be so good with a sword, and so fast. He had picked it up one day, just shy of his second year on the ship, having watched Appa and Imaru spar, and managed to almost perfectly mimic their movements. Yung's jaw had dropped.

It had even grabbed Zaheer's attention from up at the steering wheel. "Kai, do that again." He followed the instruction, and Zaheer studied him for a moment. "Would you like to learn how to sword fight, boy?" Kai nodded eagerly. Zaheer jerked his head in Yung's direction. "Alright, Yung, start teaching him tomorrow."

Kai wasn't Yung's pupil for long, as within only a few months Kai surpassed Yung's skill level, and he climbed the ladder of the crew to his next teacher. It didn't take long for Kai to beat his new teacher, either. Looking at the boy, you never would have guessed how skilled he truly was; his limbs were long and gangly, and his voice had just started to crack, but Yung couldn't help but feel proud at knowing how quickly Kai had taken to sword fighting, or really, how he had truly become a member of the crew.

The kid was growing up.

 _T. tall_

"I'm taller than you," Kai said gleefully. Yung looked up from his book at the boy, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I am," Kai said, grinning widely. "I can see right over your head."

Yung snorted. "Of course you can, I'm sitting down."

"No, but even when you're standing up." Yung rolled his eyes. "Don't believe me? Go on, stand up and I'll show you." Yung sighed, knowing the thirteen year old wasn't going to let it go.

"Fine." Yung pushed up from the table, and was surprised to find Kai just clearing his height by less than an inch, but still enough that the boy was visibly taller than him.

"Ha," Kai crowed. "Told you!"

Yung waved his hand. "Alright, alright, you're taller than me. Happy?"

"Extremely," Kai smiled smugly.

"Now, isn't it your turn today to clean the toilets?" Yung reminded him. "You know how Zaheer is when you forget your chores.

Kai's smile faded. "Shit."

Yung laughed as the boy scampered out of the room. "That's what you'll be cleaning!" he called after him. Yung smirked to himself. "Looks like height isn't everything, after all."

 _A. arrogant_

Yung knew better than anyone else that Kai could be a cocky little shit. The boy was skilled, and charming, and he knew it. There had been many times Yung was sure Zaheer had come close to wringing the kid's neck after one smartass comment too many. Not only did Kai dominate most of the crew in sword fighting by the time he was fifteen (Zaheer was practically the sole exception), he was also a talented Pai Sho player.

At least his arrogance was earned, to be some extent, Yung figured. Still, it was a joy to pour a bucket full of cold water over the kid when he slept in far too late for the day.

 _I. impulsive_

Zaheer didn't tolerate stowaways or thieves on his ship. He had made it very clear to Yung when Kai had first joined the crew that if he stole anything, the boy would be chucked overboard and into the ocean without a second thought. As a result, Kai had worked hard to break his habit of stealing, and over the past few years there had been no stowaways or thefts that Yung could think of.

Until today.

"How dare you steal from my ship?" Zaheer thundered, dragging a young woman out onto the deck, the rest of the crew closely following. The woman seemed to be in her thirties, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Yung watched apprehensively, pity welling up inside of him as the woman tried to pull herself together.

"Please, sir, have mercy, my children-"

"Quiet." He shoved her to the floor. "This little tramp attempted to steal from my ship-"

"Wait," Kai's voice came from beside Yung, and he looked at the teenager, surprised. "She hasn't actually stole anything yet?"

"She stole three meals worth of food yesterday," Zaheer snapped. "But luckily I caught her this time before she could steal anything else. Now, she gets her punishment." Zaheer's hand dropped to the hilt of his sword and the woman's crying grew louder. Bile rose in Yung's throat.

"Please, please have mercy - show mercy, I'm sorry-"

Zaheer unsheathed his sword. "Sorry isn't good enough-"

"Captain, stop!" Before Yung could stop him, Kai lunged out of the crowd and placed himself in between Zaheer and the woman. "She stole three meals worth of food, correct?"

Zaheer glared at him. "Yes, now get out of my way."

Kai held his ground. "If I don't eat for a day, the food will be balanced again. No real harm done, right? So…so we can let her go. Besides, the crew just cleaned the deck, think of how messy it'd get if-" Kai swallowed hard. "You don't need to kill her. She has a family, don't you ma'am?"

The woman nodded, her crying quieting to hiccuping.

Zaheer stared hard at Kai. "You wouldn't eat for a day."

"I've done that plenty of times before," Kai shrugged. Scowling, Zaheer sheathed his sword.

"Fine. But no one's allowed to give him food; this was your decision, Kai," Zaheer said sternly.

Kai immediately nodded. "Of course."

Zaheer threw the woman a disdainful look. "You may go, and for God's sake, stop snivelling on my deck." He stalked off, slamming the door as he went below deck. The deck was silent except for the quiet crying of the woman, who was still trying to collect herself.

Kai helped her to her feet. "It's alright now ma'am." She leaned heavily on him for support.

"Thank you," she sobbed.

Kai half-smiled. "No problem." He glanced at the door that led below decks before digging around the pocket of his pants and fishing out a couple of coins, whatever remained of the weekly allowance he got. He pushed them into the woman's hands. "Feed your kids and yourself tonight, would ya?"

The woman nodded, smiling tearfully. "Thank you," she said again, her sobbing subsiding as she walked down the plank and onto the docks.

Kai turned back to the crew to find them staring at him. He rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow at them. "What?"

"You're a damn good kid," Yung said.

Kai smiled a little. "Shut up Yung, I'm a kid anymore. Nearly sixteen, remember?"

Yung ruffled his hair. "Still our kid." The crew grinned at him, Appa and Imaru both placing a hand on one of Kai's shoulders. Kai's smile grew.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

 _N. noble_

The knife came out of nowhere. The blade sank into Kai's back as Zaheer dragged it across his skin, tearing flesh with blood quickly flowing from the wound as Zaheer yanked it out. Yung watched on in horror as Kai bit back a scream and sank to his knees, his sword clattering out of his hand. Yung heard Otaku gasp sharply beside him, and vaguely wondered how the man was feeling: Kai had only challenged Zaheer to spare Otaku, after all, even if Yung knew it was only a matter of time before this duel took place. Tension had always been there, and it wasn't really a secret that the men rallied and liked Kai's ideas and beliefs much more than Zaheer's of late. Still, Yung thought they would have a couple more years before it reached the peaking point; Kai was still so young, only 16.

And it seemed like he was going to die, as Zaheer kicked Kai's sword out of his reach.

"Just face it," Zaheer leered. "You're nothing more than a worthless street rat, even after all these years."

Kai glared at Zaheer through one swollen eye, still straight backed and proud. "True. But I'm a worthless street rat who can still kick your ass."

Yung knew there were only moments left before Zaheer delivered the final blow, as a pool of blood formed around Kai's shoes and legs. His hand dropped to his own sword, and he glanced at the rest of the crew for a moment, and recognized the look in their eyes: they weren't going to let this boy die. If all of them went up against Zaheer, they'd be able to defeat him. They'd be able to save Kai.

Now, perhaps, it was time for Yung to be what Kai always had been: brave to the point of recklessness. He went to step forward - to pull out his sword and enter the duel himself - when Kai moved faster than Yung would have thought possible. Kai rolled over suddenly, using his smaller size to his advantage and grabbing his sword.

Zaheer lunged forwards a bit too far, and Kai once again rolled out of the way. Gritting his teeth. Kai slashed his sword across Zaheer's face and sent him reeling. Blood oozed between Zaheer's fingers, a nasty scar running over his left eye and forehead, cutting across his eyebrow. "You little-"

Kai didn't waste any time, lunging with his sword and sending Zaheer to the floor with a well placed kick in the back of his shins. He picked up Zaheer's own sword and tossed it over to the crew; Imaru caught it neatly, staring wide-eyed at the fight, now coming to a close. Breathing heavily, Kai lowered his sword so the tip was pressing lightly into Zaheer's neck.

"I'm going to spare you," Kai panted, yet his words were loud and clear. "Because you gave me a chance, when I was a kid, and whether I like it or not, I owe you. But this is not your ship - it's not even mine, either. It's everyone's, and you have no right to be Captain when it's only because everyone's too scared to stand up to you. So you are going to leave this ship."

"And if I refuse? You're so weak, it wouldn't take much to finish you off now boy, and you've barely landed a blow on me this whole time," Zaheer hissed.

"Then we'd help him," Yung spoke out. Zaheer's eyes widened with rage. Yung looked uncertainly back to the men, and then to Kai, who was smiling slightly at him. "Wouldn't we men?" They all murmured something in agreement, and Yung glared at Zaheer. "Well, that's settled then."

Kai slowly withdrew his sword, staggering backwards as he stepped away from Zaheer. Yung, Otaku and Longshot rushed forward to support him. The rest of the men kept close tabs on their old Captain as he went to one of the rowboats, and Appa and Imaru lowered it down to the water. Appa came back once they had cut the ropes, and helped Kai down below decks to the infirmary, where Longshot immediately set to work.

"Is he-?" Otaku whimpered, after Longshot gave Kai some pain medication to knock him out. Yung watched as Longshot cleaned out the wound; up close it was even nastier, all torn flesh and blotchy, blood-stained skin.

"He's lost quite a bit of blood," Longshot said, his voice wavering from its usual calm and collected tone, when the medic spoke at all. "But he will live."

Otaku sagged with relief and Yung set up a thankful prayer, never mind he wasn't very religious. "And he'll be Captain, now," Yung said. Both men nodded. "I don't think there's anyone who'd dispute that." He glanced around at the crowded room, practically full to bursting with the entire crew all crammed in there. No one said a word against it, and Yung nodded. That was that, then. As the room cleared out, and The Waterbender shuddered forwards through the waves, Yung waited until Kai's eyes fluttered open, and he smiled. "Nice to have you back, Captain."


	2. (Almost) more trouble than he

(almost) more trouble than he's worth

* * *

 **Summary:** "He's almost more trouble than he's worth." Yung grinned, raising an eyebrow at Kai. "What? I said almost." / Kai&Momo, Anchorverse. Minor Momo/Pabu.

* * *

He's a shrimpy little thing, not even coming up to Kai's shoulder, and he can hardly believe that someone so small could be related to someone like Appa. The two couldn't look more different - where Momo was lanky, all skin and bones, Appa was vast and broad-shouldered and all muscle - except for the smile. The way their lips curved upwards was almost identical. Besides, Appa had said that Momo took after his father more than Appa's sister (Kai had given the man his condolences upon hearing she had passed away a few weeks prior) and his sister hadn't looked much like Appa anyway, during the sole time Kai had met her.

"I never would have let him even see the ship if Zaheer was still Captain," Appa says in a low voice, as Momo nervously introduces himself to the crew. Pabu grins and shakes his hand. "But his dad passed away a while ago and now his mom's gone. I'm all he's got now, Kai, and the last thing I wanna do is leave the crew but-"

Kai claps a hand on his shoulder. "I know, Appa. We'll give him a shot, okay?"

* * *

Momo starts with the small tasks: mopping the deck, helping store food, and slowly, after that goes well more or less (okay, well Imaru did get knocked out accidentally with a broom, and an impromptu food fight might have broken out, but really, Appa assures Kai that that's actually better than usual for Momo) he gets promoted to lookout. It's a boring, tedious job, one most of the crew is glad to be rid of.

Kai doesn't mind too much the first time Appa reports Momo's fallen asleep in the crow's nest. Kai had done it himself a few times in his youth. By the twentieth time, though, Kai's patience is wearing thin. He has half a mind to let the kid sleep there all day, but knows it probably isn't wise, or healthy, so he climbs up anyway.

Momo apologizes profusely, of course, but Kai knows that it doesn't mean it isn't going to happen again.

But somehow, while Momo chatters on and then shivers because of the cold, Kai's annoyance fades. It's different, having someone younger than him on the ship. Someone who looks up to him, who has never known Zaheer as Captain, who, in a lot of ways, probably admires him (or at least that's what Appa says, with some well-earned fear there as well).

"How about I make you some tea?" Kai offers. It is a chilly day after all.

Momo blinks. "Oh, uh sure," he chirps, his downcast face brightening, and Kai grins.

He wonders if this is what it's like to have a younger brother.

* * *

Sword fighting is a challenge. Momo is coming along dreadfully slow, and as much time Kai spends with him, progress is a slow and steady process. Luckily, Pabu volunteers to help Momo practice when Kai can't, along he's not sure how helpful Pabu actually is; if anything, Momo seems more distracted during those lessons than ones with Kai.

Kai catches Momo staring at Pabu one day at dinner and has to bite back a smile. Maybe it couldn't hurt letting Pabu teach Momo more often, then.

* * *

For someone so scrawny, Kai should have known that Momo wouldn't be able to hold his liquor. Still, the Captain's laughing hard with the rest of them as Momo passes out after a night of drinking, his head dropping onto Pabu's shoulder, before Skoochy gets an idea. Appa grabs the bucket of cold water from the icebox, and they peel Momo off of Pabu and lay him carefully on the floor.

"On my count," Skoochy grins, and Appa has to stifle laughter as he throws the bucket of cold water over the boy.

Momo wakes up soaking wet with a colourful slew of curse words spewing just like the water from his mouth. "You little-!" he mops back his hair from his eyes, and Kai's sides hurt he's laughing so much. Momo eventually smiles and laughs along with him, and Kai throws an arm around him.

Yeah, the kid's not half-bad at all.


	3. she is

she is. . .

 **Summary:** Kai's evolving feelings/thoughts about Jinora.

* * *

I.

She is _infuriating_.

She is not fragile, like he had expected. She has a backbone of steel and holds her head high as soon as she knows he isn't actually going to harm her. She yells and throws curses at him. She is the very picture of a woman who doesn't take things lying down. She may be a woman of high-society, but he's beginning to think it's all because of her last name, Gyatso, than any actual merit to her own credit. She is stubborn, and loud, and intelligent, although he begrudgingly admits the last point. She reads far more than what's healthy. She is quick to conclusions and she calls him an arrogant bastard as much as she calls him Captain.

And, somehow, what she thinks bothers him.

(He figures it's because she voices her opinions so damn loudly.)

II.

She is _not-half-bad._

She is actually kind of nice to be around when she's not leaping at his throat. She'll listen to what he's trying to teach her, and she's picked up on sword-fighting surprisingly quick. She is hard=worker. She smiles at him sometimes, never for long, but they're genuine and her eyes will gleam with amusement. Her quips are more smart than snark and more often then not, surprisingly, he finds himself chuckling at them than feeling an indignant rush of anger like he used to. She seems to hold him in a higher regard now too. She still reads more than what's healthy and he knows she hasn'treturned the latest book Otaku had leant her but he can't bring himself to make her return it; when she reads a small smile lights up her face.

And, somehow, when she smiles he kind of likes it.

(He figures it's because it means she's not yelling at him for once.)

III.

She is _brave._

She is not fragile - he knows this truly now, because the strength of her shove is enough to send him sprawling to the ground. She is selfless, as the blade sinks into her skin and suddenly all he sees is red and panic fills his lungs like water as he tries to protect her. She is funny and manages to make him laugh even though he still feels guilty. She smiles at him easily and often and he can't help but grin back. She recovers and they move on but something's different, something's changed; they're closer now.

And, somehow, he feels a bit too pleased about it.

(He figures it's because it'll make everything easier, now.)

IV.

She is _his-friend._

She is funny and makes him laugh so hard his cheeks hurt. She still takes jabs at him but they're more friendly pokes and he pokes her right back. She steals his beer and he lets her. She spars with the crew and wins and he feels a swell of pride, or at least that's what he assumes it is, because he's never had a lot of pride before, least of all in himself. She doesn't even flinch when the ugly truth comes out and holds him. She is kind. She is his friend.

And, somehow, it feels like he's lying to himself.

(He figures it's because she's more like his best friend.)

V.

She is _everything._

She is the first thing he thinks of when he wakes up in the morning, and he spends a good deal of his night trying not to think of her before finally falling asleep. She makes him think of a future, beyond just a one night stand, but a real future, long-lasting, for years, hopefully, if she'll have him. She makes him realize that he cares about her happiness more than his own. She is love, strong and pure and stubborn because it won't leave him alone. She is love.

And, somehow, he feels like his heart is already bursting at the seams.

(He figures it's because he's never been in love before.)

VI.

She is _not-his_.

She is _not-his_ to love, to cherish, to have, to want or to need. She is _not-his_ to have a chance with, nor is she a fixture in his future. She is _not-his_ , in every sense of the word. She is leaving, she is gone, she is a woman of high-society and not-his, not-his, _not his_. She is not his and it's killing him inside. She's killing him. She is going to leave him. She has a family and a home to go back to; he is none of these things, has nothing to offer her. She will not have him, if he offers himself - why would she?

She is infuriating, and not-half-bad at all, she is brave and everything and wonderful and he loves her more than he ever thought he could love anyone and _she is not his_.

And, somehow, he knows he should have seen this coming.

(He knows, deep down, it's better to love her and lose her than never love her at all.)


	4. the worst timing (ever)

the worst timing (ever)

* * *

 **Summary:** Kai's POV of the last scene in chapter 20, of him and Jinora's conversation and then when Rizza comes in. Requested by which-witch-is-witch on tumblr.

* * *

Somehow just by the way the knock sounded on his door, Kai already knew it was Jinora. "Come in." He noticed the way she hovered in his doorway, seeming almost nervous, which was unlike her and he sat up on his bed, giving her a curious look.

She bit down on her bottom lip and he wondered if she knew what that did to him. "Can - can we talk?"

"Uh, sure." She walked over to him, but kept her distance, and suddenly he felt a little nervous. That morning they had always been so close, and she'd usually sit right down next to him. Had something bad happened? "Something wrong?" he tilted his head to the side.

"No, I just wanted to talk about the crow's nest. And, everything really I guess." Kai gave her a blank look. They were good, weren't they? They had talked about in the kitchen. At the mention of the crow's nest, his heart skipped a beat. He had come so close to kissing her. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed that she hadn't. "I know, I'm not explaining myself very well, but this is really hard for me to say, okay?"

"Okay," he said slowly. She hugged her arms, struggling to meet his eyes and it only worried him more.

"Look, I…you - we, I don't want this to change us, for the worse," she started, stumbling over her words. His brow furrowed. What on earth was she going to tell him? After everything they had been through, he couldn't think of anything that could change them for the worst (besides her departure from the ship, from his life, but he tried not to think about that).

"You're my best friend, and I don't want this to change that, but I - am I insane? In thinking that maybe there's something, that we, we're…?" Kai's face remained unreadable, even as his mind was spinning. Was she trying to say - no, she couldn't be. "I don't want to scare you, but honestly, I think I'm-"

There was another knock at the door and Jinora fell silent, looking liked a kicked puppy. Kai glanced at her and then at the door, and immediately stood up, eyes widening.

What was she doing here? Rizza confidently strode towards him, not even glancing in Jinora's direction. "Rizza, what're you-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence before she kissed him. He automatically responded, but he supposed Rizza could tell his heart wasn't in it because she pulled away after a moment or two. She must have heard they were in town. Of course, they had hooked up whenever he came to town, but…

Maybe this was what he needed. A way to get Jinora out of his head and hopefully out of his heart. She'd be gone soon, and he couldn't spend years of his life pining for her. Maybe Rizza could be the perfect distraction.

Rizza extended a hand to Jinora, who looked like she swallowed something sour, and Kai knew this wasn't going to be pretty. "Rizza. One of Kai's old girlfriends, nice to meet you."

Jinora didn't shake it, and Kai wondered what was going through her head. "Pleasure."

Rizza placed her hand back on Kai's chest, and he wished she'd let go of him. It felt strange, and almost unfaithful, to be in a position like this with Jinora in the room. Which didn't make any sense, but neither did a pirate falling for an heiress either.

"I heard you were in town and knew I just had to stop by and catch up. I'm sure Kai's told you all about me."

Jinora smiled, but something about it didn't seem genuine and it unnerved him slightly. "No, actually, he hasn't."

The last thing he had wanted to do with Jinora was talk about his exes once he had started wishing they'd be together. He wanted to focus on her, and them, not all those other girls who paled in comparison to her.

Kai gratefully pulled away from Rizza, remembering introductions. "Oh, uh. Gyatso - Jinora, this is Rizza. Rizza, this is Jinora Gyatso." _My friend_ didn't seem big enough to encompass everything she was to him, and he couldn't say _the girl I'm in love with_ either, so he settled on neither.

"I hope I wasn't interrupting something," Rizza said, and Jinora's smile faltered while Kai wondered the same thing. Had Rizza interrupted something? What had Jinora been about to tell him?

"No, not at all," Jinora replied lightly, and Kai felt a pang of disappointment. He was sure it had been something important, from the way she had struggled with saying it. Saying something about _them_. "I was just leaving. I'm sure you two have lots of catching up to do." She turned to leave.

"Gyatso, wait." Rizza quickly grabbed his hand and he was too focussed on having Jinora look him in the eye to bother to let go. "That thing you wanted to tell me?" They could continue that conversation, later, privately, if she wanted.

Jinora's eyes seemed unusually bright as she smiled. "It's not important really."

Kai stared at her. It had seemed important. Or maybe just important to his hopeful heart. "Are you sure?" _Please, please let it be important_ , his heart screamed, as if hoping hers would hear.

"Yeah." There was a strain in her easy tone, and Kai wondered if she was lying to him. But why would she lie to him? "Should I go tell Daw Rizza's staying for dinner?"

"Yeah." Kai smiled at her, which was practically an involuntary reflex now whenever he looked at her, which was far too often. "Thanks Gyatso, you're the best."

 _And you're not mine._


	5. or it's gonna go down in flames

or it's gonna go down in flames

* * *

He makes your blood boil so easily,  
with cutting words and low blows,  
and you know he shouldn't  
be able to wound you so easily,  
or make your heart race.

Okay, so maybe he's not half-bad.  
You're reluctant to admit it,  
just like you'll never admit  
the short, close contact,  
skin-on-skin, for a split second,  
is burned into your memory.

The knife pierces through,  
cold metal against warm flesh,  
and his scream,  
mirrors your own,  
and your heart thinks,  
 _it's him._

But you don't want it to be him.  
And besides, he's still a  
cocky (kind)  
annoying (selfless)  
arrogant son of a bitch.  
But his touch still burns  
and you hate him a little for it.

And then you hate him a lot,  
because can't he see what he's doing to you?  
But he's too busy making heart eyes at _her,  
_ and you swallow the lump in your throat,  
wishing you didn't feel so cold.

Being mad at him is not a new feeling,  
but right now you're enraged,  
seething,  
because he - is - such - an - idiot  
and you just want him to shut up.  
And you just want him to stay.  
So you kiss him.  
His mouth is warm, soft,  
everything you ever thought it would be.  
It's addicting,  
it's terrifying.  
So you run away.

You can't run away now,  
with everything on fire.  
Your eyes are burning as you stare at him,  
because he cannot be serious.  
And you just want him to go  
 _why won't he go?_

"Kiss me."  
A last request,  
of scorching lips,  
and desperation and comfort,  
and you think,  
there are worse ways to die,  
as the smoke fills up your lungs,  
because hasn't he always been your oxygen?


	6. you don't wear my chains

you don't wear my chains

* * *

 **Summary:** You don't wear my chains. - Boston, Augustana. / Pre-Anchor. Skoochy's time as a slave, and liberty. Kind of a character study.

* * *

 _Born a slave, die a slave._

The iron chains are cold as his father's words ring in his head. _Don't get ahead of yourself son,_ his father had warned, when his head got lost in the clouds. _You can dream but all it's gonna do is get you killed._

Skoochy knows this, deep down of course. His father was a slave, as was his mother, and his grandparents, and his great-grandparents, and-

Now him.

Or at least in a different way, dragged away from his family at 14 years of age, forced onto a ship. Heavy iron shackles over his wrist, painfully tight, digging into his skin. He's forced to sit and row with the other slaves, for hours, his muscles burning, body weighed down by exhaustion. A slavemaster holds a whip and uses it as he sees fit. Skoochy imagines strangling him and is surprised at how satisfying the image is.

By the end of the third day, two slaves have passed out and haven't woken up. In the morning, their bodies are dumped overboard. Skoochy swallows hard. It's his first glimpse at the Captain of the ship, a woman named Hama. She has long straggly dark hair and wicked sharp teeth and an even sharper sword. She seems to like shedding blood. Not his, though. Skoochy thinks his father would be proud. He's kept his head down and out of the clouds. He's been too busy surviving off meagre scraps and little to no water. He wonders how long his body can hold out like this.

He's not sure whether he wants it to be a long time or not.

* * *

They've been out at sea for three weeks when they stop in Port Bosco, and go to the black market. Skoochy wonders if the governor, Tenzin Gyatso, knows how much slave trade happens in his city. Probably not. The Governor's stinking rich. Too busy dealing with problems of people who might even slaves themselves to worry about people like him.

Skoochy's shoved into a lineup with a bunch of slaves who've obviously been here far longer than him, judging by the pinched look of their bodies, the ribs poking through their skin. Skoochy knows he can't look much better though, having lost a lot of weight in a very short amount of time. Buyers, possible owners, study him, prodding and touching him wherever they like and he can't even do anything other than glare at them. None of them pick him though, and he feels jarred.

He's the lowest of the low and still not good enough.

* * *

Skoochy witnesses his first murder after another four weeks. He's been put on deck to mop since the ship's anchored for part of the day when Hama drags out a woman by the hair. "Stealing food, miserable little-" Hama seethes. She pulls out her sword and the woman barely has time to beg for mercy before Hama slices her head clean off with one strike.

The head thuds onto the deck, blood gushing and pooling around the body. Hama's head snaps up and her eyes fixate on Skoochy.

"Clean this up," she commands, and then heads off to talk to her navigator.

Skoochy's hands are shaking and once the body's in the ocean, he retches up what little food he had eaten as well. A few more slaves take pity on him and help him clean up the blood.

* * *

It's back to rowing. And then three more marketplaces. Sleepless nights. Nights with disturbing dreams that steal whatever sleep he manages to get. The few slaves he felt almost close to - relationships existing of shared miserable glances, pitying looks and rare, small gestures of kindness - are quickly sold off. And then, he is as well.

His first master has them working in the fields, harvesting food. His second makes him scrub all the floors in their shiny mansion, pick up after the hunting dogs, who are treated far better than he is. He's there each time for a couple years, with a few short changes in between, more ships and rowing, and then new masters. A cycle he grows tired of but can't seem to break, just like the iron chains that weigh him down. He feels hopeless.

His newest master lives in a mansion as well. His last name is Chow, and Skoochy only knows this because that's how he's supposed to address him, as Lord Chow. The man has servants as well, and Skoochy is one of the very few slaves. Life is better than the ships: there's more food, better sleeping conditions. He's even allowed to talk freely whenever Lord Chow isn't around.

He has to help serve tea when Chow's nephew comes by. He's an arrogant boy, late teens at the most, and he can make anything sound obnoxious. "The Gyatsos invited me over for tea tomorrow," Chow's nephew bragged.

"Their eldest daughter is quite pretty, I've heard," Lord Chow said. "Not of marrying age yet though. You, slave, paper." Skoochy hurried to obey his order, feeling despicable - was this life just going to be following orders? Why not fight back for once? - and gave his master the paper. Chow made a low noise of disgust, turning the page.

Skoochy catches a glimpse of the front page. There's a grinning young man on front with messy hair, an artists' interpretation of him, anyway. Skoochy wishes he could read the article below it. Maybe he could ask one of the servants later?

"Zaheer's been thrown out of power," Chow said to his nephew. "That boy on front - Kan, Kai, whatever is name is - took over. Too bad. I wonder if our business deals will transfer over."

They don't. Skoochy hears plenty of rants about it - "Gold investments in that cargo and that little shrimp decides to sell it off cheaper! What game is he playing at?" - even though the man doesn't appear in the paper again. Or at least not for a year; Skoochy can hardly believe he's been here so long. His life back with his family - still a slave, but together - seems like a lifetime ago, but also like no time has passed at all.

"That Captain's breaking out slaves," Lord Chow grumbles. Skoochy feels a spark of hope. "Doesn't even gain anything from it. That boy's gonna get him and his whole crew killed. Wonder how he even beat Zaheer in the first place."

Skoochy breaks a cup at tea time. Then steals some food. He gets lashes, red welts forming on his back. He doesn't stop. Part of him wonders if what he's doing is smart. There are many worse places to be. But there also has to be better places too, though, right? He holds onto that hope as much as he can.

Finally, Chow gets so fed up with him he decides to sell him off at a marketplace. This time a man named Quil buys him, and Skoochy shudders. He's heard the horror stories about Quil. How many of his slaves have just killed themselves to end their service.

Skoochy's beyond relieved when he's given to one of Quil's ships, but not the one Quil himself lives on. He wonders what fate exactly he's just escaped. He knows the look in Quil's cold, clear blue eyes, as he surveyed him - not only as a piece of meat, a profit, but something almost worse than that, somehow, if it's possible - will never leave him.

Skoochy's bounced around from ship to ship over the next year or so. "Behavioural problems," the Captains warn, rolling their eyes and scowling. But he's too strong of a worker to just get rid of, so, reluctantly, they're stuck with him. And he's stuck with the scars from their punishments. Somehow, it's a working system; it's worked for almost the past decade of his life.

* * *

He's down in the rowing room, sweat running down the back of his neck when he hears shouting up on deck. Brow furrowing, he goes to stand to get a better view from the back, the slave master supervising them too distracted to even raise his whip. Everyone's watching as the door opens and pirates rush in. The slave master cowers against the wall, begging for mercy. Skoochy realizes it's just going to be a takeover; that happens sometimes, rival crews raiding ships and taking the slaves and other cargo for their own profit.

So his jaw drops in shock when a young man - younger than he is, surely, certainly not older than 20 - walks over and takes the key ring from the slave master. The man looks up at them, and Skoochy thinks he looks familiar, for some reason.

The man walks towards them and undoes the chains of the slave closest to him. And then the next, and the next, until he finally works his way down to Skoochy at the far back. His eyes radiate kindness, sympathy. It's been so long since anyone's looked at any of them like that.

"My name's Kai," the man says. Skoochy rubs his aching wrists as the hazy memory of Chow's paper, over two years ago, comes back to him. "We're here to help."

Kai and his crew lead them onto a ship with the words _The Waterbender_ painted in peeling letters on the hull. They're all given food and water and clothing. Skoochy can hardly believe it.

They're free. _He's free._ His father was wrong.

 _Born a slave. Die a free man._

* * *

One night when Skoochy can't sleep, he finds Kai up on deck. All the former slaves ( _former,_ it still seems too good to be true) have camped out in makeshift sleeping arrangements in the dining hall.

Skoochy wordlessly sits beside him. Somehow, he knows that Kai is like him; different demons, but there's just something in the Captain's eyes that tells him they're the same. An understanding that there are things too horrible to talk about.

Skoochy stares at the horizon and then digs a hand in his pocket for a pack of cigarettes, something he had nicked on the last ship. But he had never actually lit one before. He lights it on the candle closest to them, one Kai had brought out to give a little light besides the moon and stars, since it's a cloudy night. The bitter taste is relieving, somehow.

Skoochy holds out to Kai, who takes it and gives it a cautious blow, puffs of smoke joining the mist their breath makes in the cold night air. "Thanks Skooch." Kai hands it back to him.

They stay like that, sitting in silence, until the morning.

* * *

After a couple of weeks of recuperation, _The Waterbender_ drops them off at Omashu. Kai offers them a choice: they can go and get jobs and call in favours from Kai and the crew's friends and connections, or they can stay on as a crew member.

Skoochy's the only one who chooses the latter. He thinks Kai knew he would be, somehow.

* * *

The ship is bright and happy. No rowing. Plenty of food, even some music nights. No masters, or snobs of high society. A man in a port once badmouths Kai and Skoochy punches him in the mouth before he can say another word.

Skoochy is something he'd never thought he'd be: happy, and free.

 _Born a slave._ He glances at Kai, at his crew. At his family. If he has to kick the bucket some day, well... _Die with your friends._ There are worse ways to go.


	7. Headlines and Heartlines

headlines and heartlines

* * *

 **Summary:** 4 times Kai and Jinora see each other in the papers, and the 1 time they see each other in person. Pre-Anchor. [Kai/Jinora]

* * *

 _i._

The first time he ever sees her is on the front page of the _Republic City Times_ and he is eleven Yung is reading the newspaper up on deck, and Kai is supposed to be mopping. But with Zaheer below decks, and the day being unbearably hot, Kai figures a quick break can't hurt, right? He plops down beside Yung, stealing a glance at the paper. He tries to make out the words below it, with no success, so he turns his attention to the picture.

He recognizes the stern governor, Tenzin Gyatso, his round-cheeked wife, holding a baby in her arms. Standing next to her is a poised little girl with her hair pulled back in a fancy bun. "That's the Governor's family right?" Kai asks. Yung looks away from the paper.

"Yes. He and his wife just had a baby. It came as a surprise, since there's a big age gap between the baby and their eldest, who's ten," Yung explains. Kai studies the picture.

"That's the girl I guess," Kai points her out from the picture. Her hands are clasped, covered in white gloves. She looks stiff and boring.

Yung smiles a little. "Yeah. Why, think she's pretty?"

Kai's cheeks burn. "What, no!" Yung chuckles. "Shut up Yung." The door that leads below decks creaks open and Kai dives for the mop to try to make it look like he's hard at work. Luckily, it's not Zaheer, just Daw, calling them for lunch.

The delicious stew puts the picture, and the girl, out of Kai's mind.

* * *

The first time she ever sees him is in a blurry photo on the front page, and she is twelve years old. A short bald man is standing in the centre, broad-chested with one hand clamped on the hilt of his sword. The rest of the pirate's crew are in their late teens, early 20s or even 30s, which is why the young teenager standing next to a pudgy man catches her eye. He's laughing at something, although she has no clue what he's finding so funny, but for some reason she wants to know. Something about him - and she has no clue why either - strikes her that he's someone who doesn't laugh enough.

The headline reads: _Governor Loses Another Ship._ Ah, so these are the nasty pirates that have stolen all that gold and cargo from her family, ruining their most recent investment. Well, she reconsiders, perhaps ruined isn't the best word. It was just one ship and it's not like they don't have plenty of others. Still, it's annoying at least, dangerous at worst.

Her father takes the paper into his hands over breakfast before she can get a closer look, or a chance to read the article. Meelo jabs her in the side with a pretend wooden sword he got for his birthday from their Uncle Bumi. "Arr, I'm a pirate!" he chirps.

Jinora rolls her eyes and opens her book, an old favourite romance novel of hers. "No you're not. Besides, pirates are criminals. You don't want to be one."

"You're just jealous because you don't have a sword," Meelo decides, sticking his tongue out at her.

"You're too young to be one," Jinora counters, trying to focus on her book.

"He's around my age," Meelo points stubbornly at the youngest member of the Captain's crew. He did seem to be around her age, but she's not about to give Meelo's stupid argument a valid point.

"Meelo," her father says warningly. "That's enough."

Pouting, Meelo slumps down in his chair but stays quiet. Jinora manages to focus on her book. Life goes on.

* * *

 _ii._

The second time he sees her in the paper is when her father is running for re-election as Governor, and Kai is fourteen. He doesn't try to keep up with politics - they're never in Port Bosco or even Republic City long enough for him to have a reason to care - but he does know some things. The photograph is obviously staged, their rim-rod straight backs too perfect, smiles too wide, clothes without a single wrinkle. The Governor stands in the centre, with his wife and daughters to his left, his sons to his right.

Well, maybe the oldest girl looks kinda nice.

"D'you think the Governor will get re-elected?" Kai asks Otaku as he and Yung look over maps, since he's their resident know-it-all. Kai tries to steal Yung's beer but the first mate swats his hand away, and it's him who answers.

"I think so. He's a pretty good Governor. He cares more about his citizens than money, for one thing." Yung pauses. "Actually being able to take proper care of all his citizens is another matter."

"Still better than Zaheer," Kai mutters darkly.

Yung smacks the back of his head. "Don't you ever say anything like that ever again," he scolds, fear and anger laced through his words. Otaku shoots him a surprised and slightly scared look.

Kai rolls his eyes. "Fine, whatever."

* * *

The second time she ever sees him, she is fifteen and she actually gets a good look at him: a smiling portrait of him greets her from the front page of the paper at breakfast. It catches her by surprise, as does the headline: _Pirate Captain Zaheer Usurped._

"Hasn't he been terrorizing the Northern Waters?" Jinora asks, digging into her eggs and toast, giving the servant who served her a quick smile.

"Yes," her father notes, eyeing the picture of the man who she assumes is the new Captain warily. "Says the crew overthrew him after one of its members, named Kai, challenged him."

 _He's handsome,_ Jinora thinks for a moment, and quickly squashes it. "He looks young."

"It says here he's 16," Tenzin reads. "Hopefully he'll either stop this pirating business or join Zaheer behind bars, eventually."

 _A handsome criminal is still a criminal,_ she reminds herself. She quickly scans the article. "It says Zaheer's gone down South. Do you think Kuvira's forces will go after him?"

Tenzin shakes his head. "No, but they'll be patrolling the waters for a while in case he tries to come back."

"Do you think they'll catch him, then?" Jinora points to the teenager on the front page. How had someone so young gone up against someone as strong as Zaheer? He must be really something.

"Perhaps," Tenzin remarks, but leaves it at that.

For a second, Jinora allows herself to hope that he won't get caught.

She spends the rest of the day preparing to go back to the secondary school, thank God, and everything else is driven and forgotten from her mind.

* * *

 _iii._

The third time he sees her in the papers, he's nineteen and killing time while he and Otaku wait for the rest of the crew to come back from errands. A nearby newspaper stand intrigues him enough to spend a couple silver coins buying a paper. Not that he can read much, of course, but Otaku's always been willing to help him out.

He hands Otaku the paper as he sits back on the wooden decks next to where their ship is moored. "Anything interesting?" he closes his eyes and enjoys the light breeze and warm sun on his face for a moment; summer had lasted surprisingly long, even though it was well into September.

"The Governor's daughter is of age now," Otaku notes. "'Jinora Gyatso's coming-of-age ball is happening in only two weeks time, with notable figures such as Suyin BeiFong, Asun Chow and his son LingShi Chow attending'," he reads aloud.

Kai cracks an eye open. "And you thought that was interesting because...?"

Otaku frowns. "Don't be mean."

"I'm not," Kai chuckles. Otaku still looks a little hurt though, so Kai opens his eyes and perks up. "So, what about this girl then? Jinora or whatever? She's the oldest, right?"

Otaku looks considerably cheered. "Yeah. I guess this ball is a good way to get her integrated fully into high society, as well as putting her on the market for suitors. It's going to be a huge event."

Kai glances at the picture of her. Her hair is curled, pulled back into ringlets that slightly spill over the shoulders of her dress, some sort of pale colour, judging by the shade of grey in the black-and-white photograph. She's pretty, he has to admit.

"I don't think she's worth all that," he says decidedly, turning away to find most of the crew walking towards him. Finally. It'll be a relief to leave.

* * *

The third time she sees him in the papers, it's a Wanted poster and a real photograph, and a real good look at his face, and she's eighteen. The intensity in his eyes catches her off guard, as does his prominent jawline and slight stubble. It's on the very back of the paper, so while her father reads she gets to read what he's wanted for: robbery, resisting arrest, obstruction of the slave trade (although slavery's illegal, she imagines the slave masters aren't too happy with him either) and murder.

She notices there's no last name, only _Kai, Captain of the Waterbender. Wanted for 2,000 yuans._ She can't help but be a little impressed. That's quite a sum of money, certainly for a pirate. She wonders what obstruction of the slave trade is. Does he raid ships and then steal the slaves? But wouldn't that just be participating in the slave trade? It was what a lot of slave masters and pirates did, after all.

"Oh and Jinora sweetie," her mother's voice is sweet like the lychee juice Jinora takes a sip of after she tears her eyes away from the poster. "Don't forget, we're having tea with LingShi Chow this afternoon."

Jinora forces a smile. Obnoxious and annoying, having tea with LingShi is the last thing she wants. She doesn't know what her parents think will come of it, but she knows what they hope: that she'll fall madly in love with him and it'll be a nice, neat little match. Jinora holds back a snort at the prospect.

She'd sooner marry a pirate.

* * *

 _iv._

The fourth time he sees her it's a tabloid magazine, and he's twenty-two. He figures that whatever else is going on must be really boring for the tabloid, _Republic Rumours,_ to resort to speculating about the Governor's daughter's love life. He can't understand why Imaru likes reading it, or discussing with Appa for that matter, but he's never had much taste for gossip anyway, so what does he know?

"It seems she'll marry LingShi Chow," Imaru says. Kai wonders if Imaru actually keeps up with it - he must not be able to, with how much they travel, and it seems like he's talking about different people anytime anyway - and is half-listening at dinner to see what he'll say, when Kai remembers he doesn't care.

"I dunno," Appa says. "What about Rizin Len?"

Dinner is almost done and it's Appa and Imaru's turn to clear the dishes, so Kai turns his attention to them. "Chatterboxes, chores remember? But you can continue your gossiping while you clean," he calls with a grin.

Imaru grins back. "'Course Captain."

The rest of the crew heads out, some for the deck (Skoochy's going for one last smoke) but most to wait in line for the bathroom or get ready for bed. They'll have an early start in the morning, heading for Omashu. They need to get there early, do as well as they can on the markets. Money's been a bit tight recently, They really should just raid a merchant ship, but with Kuvira's forces, and Koh's for that matter, it was getting harder and harder.

Kai sighs. Perhaps it's the need for a distraction that makes him look through the trashy magazine while Imaru and Appa clear the dishes. He flips through the glossy pages, finally landing on the article they were gossiping about. It's a big greyscale picture of Jinora Gyatso, along with a young man around her age. He wonders if that's whoever LingShi is. If it is, Kai agrees with Appa. The girl looks anything but happy to be standing in such close quarters with him.

But he supposes it'll be a good way to marry into money. That's what the high society girls did after all, and as the Governor's daughter... Kai pauses, an idea forming. A solution. It'd be simple, and who cared if they had never done something like it before? Kidnapping the Governor's daughter, making some quick ransom. It'd be easy. Almost too easy.

"Mind if I borrow this?" he holds up the magazine. Maybe Otaku can garner some clues and figure out where she's going to be. This article can only be a week old at best.

"Sure. I didn't think you were into that stuff Cap," Imaru shrugs.

"I'm not," Kai grins.

Way. Too. Easy.

* * *

The fourth time she seems him in the papers, it's another Wanted poster and she's twenty-one, but this time it's joined with a bunch of others. Captain Quil, from the Blood Moon pirates, Captain Korra from The Avatar, Long Feng from the Dai Li, and finally Kai, from The Waterbender. Kuvira's forces want information and whereabouts, although Jinora doubts anything will come through. They've all stayed free this long haven't they?

She spends time going through the whole paper though, lingering at the Wanted posters. She wants breakfast to take as long as possible, since the longer she stays home the less time she has to spend in Port Bosco with LingShi Chow, the less time the better. Her right wrist still hurts from where he had grabbed her and refused to let go, and that was two weeks ago.

"Why're you looking at the Wanted posters?" Rohan says, taking her mind briefly away from LingShi.

"I want to memorize their faces, so that I can try and be a resource," she lies, even though she had stared right past them without taking anything in, and it strikes her as odd how easily she's able to lie now. About almost anything. About LingShi. About her happiness. It's scary.

But she still smiles truthfully at her younger brother, and ruffles his hair.

"You better get going," Tenzin says, stooping down to peck Pema on the cheek before heading into work. "You're riding with me, remember?"

"Of course father." She rises from the table, giving her mother quick hug. "I'll be back in time for dinner," she promises. _Hopefully sooner._

She doesn't come back in time for dinner. She doesn't come back at all. Instead, she's on a pirate ship.

* * *

 _v._

The first time he sees her in person, Kai has to admit that the pictures didn't do her justice. She's really quite beautiful, even if her features are slanted in anger, even if she is quick to snap and refuses to come down to dinner.

 _She's going to be a piece of work,_ he thinks glumly, rubbing the spot above his left eyebrow, feeling a headache form already. And now she's going to be on his ship for four months.

 _Just great._

* * *

The first time she sees him in person, Jinora has to admit she's a little disappointed and more than a little angry and maybe a little scared too. She's heard of his reputation, even if she can't recall any details, and the only comparison she has to his current appearance was an old drawing made a few years ago and they were both much younger.

She expected him to be older. More terrifying. Instead, he's just arrogant, and annoying and talks over her and doesn't listen at all. She gets enough of that back home, so she can't help but put her foot down and make things as difficult as possible. She can't believe as Captain he didn't make sure everything was going to go smoothly, and now she's stuck on this stupid ship for four months.

 _Just great._


	8. Bars and Stars

bars and stars

* * *

 **Summary:** Momo messes up. Again. Pabu decides he needs some cheering up. [Momo/Pabu] Set during chapter 10. Requested by spiritypowers

* * *

There were a lot of things Momo wasn't very good at. Sword fighting, cleaning, not messing up, came to mind first. And most recent of all was flirting. It had been in a bar in Yun-Ho and there had been a really cute guy at the bar (not quite as cute as Pabu, but still pretty cute) and Momo had tried and failed to flirt with him. The guy had looked both awkward and amused, and not in a good way.

Momo hung his head after the guy left hand in hand with someone older and surely much more experienced later on, staring into his beer. He barely even looked up as Pabu slid onto the stool next to him. "Rejected?" the redhead guessed. Momo nodded. "Tough luck Momo. That really sucks."

"What about you?" Momo said, trying not to sound miserable, even if the idea of Pabu going home with someone just made him feel worse, which he knew was selfish and stupid, because he and Pabu were just friends, but...Was it okay to be jealous when it was just a crush?

"Nobody's caught my eye," Pabu shrugged, their eyes meeting for a moment, green into brown, before Pabu turned away and called to the bartender for a beer. He took a long drink. "Wanna head back? I know I'm kinda tired."

"Yung'll kill us if we interrupt Captain and Jinora's night," Momo shrugged. Yung had given them all a very stern warning before entering the bar: no one was to head back early unless it was an emergency. "But we could just go for a walk, if you'd like to."

Pabu smiled at him. "Yeah. I'd like that a lot."

Momo's heart lifted. "Okay then." Momo finished off his beer and then pushed himself away from the bar and slid off to the stool. Pabu grabbed his own drink and brought it along with them as they stepped out of the stuffy, loud bar and into the cool, quiet night. It was a pretty cloudy night, the street lamps illuminating the streets, the golden glow distorted on the shifting sea only a few feet away as they left the bar and rounded the corner.

Where they were going exactly, Momo didn't know, but he honestly didn't care. It wasn't often that he was left completely alone with Pabu and he was going to appreciate it. Maybe this night wouldn't be such a bad one after all. Besides, they came and knew their way around Yun-Ho enough that it was practically impossible to get lost. (Although, given his luck, who knew: he'd probably find a way.)

Pabu finally stopped walking at one of the piers, relatively empty of boats, and plopped down on the deck. Momo sat cross-legged beside him.

"I wish we could see the stars," Pabu said, glancing up. The clouds hadn't cleared at all.

"Me too," Momo agreed. "My mom loved them a lot."

"Do you miss her? Your mom?" Pabu asked softly. Momo glanced at him, but he was staring steadfastly at the horizon.

"Yeah," Momo admitted. "A lot, sometimes. But I have Appa and that helps a lot. And the crew. And you."

"I'm not just part _of_ the crew?" Pabu's deep brown eyes gleamed with amusement, and this time he did look back at Momo, who flushed.

"Well, you are, but you're also...different?" Momo tried weakly. "A good different. A really good different. Am I rambling? Appa says I ramble and I probably am and I'll shut up now-"

"No, don't," Pabu placed his hand over Momo's for a moment. His fingers were calloused and warm. "I like hearing you talk. What you have to say. And I like being a good different too. It makes me feel special and...I think that you're really special too."

Momo's eyes crinkled. "Even though I'm a screw-up?"

Pabu shook his head. "No. Sometimes you screw-up but that's not who you are. You're Momo, and I like you a lot just the way you are." His hand on was still on top of Momo's and part of the younger boy wanted to properly hold his hand, but was also worried that if he moved, Pabu would take his hand away.

"Me too," Momo said happily, blushing furiously. "Er, I mean I don't like myself a lot, I like you - I - well, er you know what I mean right?" Pabu always seemed to, and this time was no exception as the redhead nodded, grinning, not in a teasing sort of way, but in a you-make-me-smile sort of way. Momo let out a small breath of relief. "Good. I think that's why I'm so bad at flirting. I just can't get my words out."

"If you wanna practice flirting, you can practice with me," Pabu offered.

Momo's cheeks burned. "With you? Oh, uh...okay."

Pabu nudged Momo's knee with his own. "Go on. Even if it's really cheesy. Like your cheesiest pick-up line. I'll give you an example. You like girls and boys right? So if you're flirting with a girl you can say 'want me to drop my anchor into your ocean' and stuff like that."

Momo started cracking up. "Oh my God, that's terrible. I cannot _believe_ you just said that." Momo gave him a playful shove. "Besides, I don't think pick-up lines are really my style. I wanna have a real connection with someone, you know. Like what Captain and Jinora have."

"Even though they refuse to admit it," Pabu said with a grin. Momo turned away, still laughing. "I've never seen two people more in denial about their feelings for each other before. They're fighting like hell against it."

"Yung's got a bet going," Momo said. "I think I bet on the wrong thing though. I said that Jinora was going to kiss Captain first."

"I think you made the right call," Pabu smiled. "You're pretty smart. And your sword fighting's gotten way better too. You need to give yourself more credit."

"I don't know about that," Momo said softly, glancing back the way they had come, thinking of his complete failure at the bar. "You know, I've never even kissed someone before," he confessed, his blush deepening.

"Really?" There was no hint of laughter in Pabu's voice and Momo felt a rush of gratefulness. "Not even a peck? On the cheek or anything?" Momo shook his head. Momo thought Pabu was going to say something when he glanced across the sea, towards _The Waterbender_. Through the dim glow of the street lamps he could make out the silhouettes of some of the crew: people were going back to the ship. "We should probably head back."

"Oh, right." Momo bit back disappointed, although what exactly he was disappointed about he wasn't sure. He did know that Pabu had saved this night from being a disaster. In fact, he had enjoyed it immensely, and he didn't really want it to end. But Pabu stood up anyway and offered Momo a hand to pull him up, who took it gratefully, his hand lingering in Pabu's before he let go.

They were the last two back to the ship, and Momo yawned as Pabu pulled open the door that led below decks with only a small creak. "Hey, Pabu?" Momo forced the words out before his courage could desert him. Pabu gave him a puzzled look, and Momo shut his eyes before he leaned in and kissed Pabu's cheek, quickly pulling away. "I had a really fun time tonight, so thanks," he said hurriedly.

Pabu slowly grinned at him. "Of course, Momo. See you tomorrow?"

Momo grinned back at him. "Yeah."

He fell asleep with the stupidest smile on his face and couldn't even answer when Appa asked why.


	9. The Infirmary

the infirmary

Some of the many times that Kai is in the infirmary, for one reason or another. [Longshot-Kai-Yung-crew friendship, up until chapter 28]. Reference's boasamishipper's oneshot "Bound To Happen".

* * *

 _i._

Longshot had treated many types of injuries in his day.

His father had once spoken of him becoming a great doctor, to which his older brother would reply, "Yeah, if we had the money." But the fact remained that they didn't, but Longshot still managed to study medicine. He had done odd jobs for sea witches who worked in the healing arts, learning their ways. He had been a poorly paid sort of nurse for an old lady with children who were too busy to take care of her. Then, he had ended up on a pirate ship known as _The Freedom Fighters_ , and their charismatic Captain Jet who had a few screws loose, but hey, it was a job patching people up, which was what Longshot did best.

But then Zaheer had offered better pay, and well, the rest of the crew was far friendlier than their Captain, and there was the most curious friendship between the first mate and a young boy, so Longshot had changed crews. Jet hadn't been very happy, but quite frankly, Longshot didn't really care.

What he cared about was the quality of the bandages in the infirmary cupboard. "Disgraceful," he muttered, seeing the weak, thin fabric. You'd bleed through it in minutes.

He'd have to talk to Zaheer, or whoever handled the finances, and get some real bandages at the next stop. Longshot was rummaging through the box of needles, wondering if they'd be sharp enough to pierce skin, when there was a knock at the door. It was the kid, with a black eye.

"Sparring accident," he shrugged, not seeming to care very much.

Longshot rolled his eyes.

The boy pouted. "I can usually hold my own, thank you very much. Ryu just didn't know his own strength this time. Are you going to fix my black eye or not?"

Longshot patted on the infirmary bed and the boy hopped onto it, as Longshot looked for a salve that would fix his eye up in no time. Where was it...? Third shelf, no, it wasn't green, it had more of a reddish colour to it - there it was. He snatched up the bottom and dabbed some of the substance onto a rag and handed it over to the kid.

"You don't talk much, do you?" the boy said curiously, holding the cloth up to his eye. Longshot just shrugged and grunted. "I think that's a good thing. That way when you do speak, people will really listen."

Then the first mate (Yung, Longshot remembered) came barging into the infirmary. "Kai! I told you not to spar with Ryu, he's too strong for you."

"I'm fine," Kai insisted. "Just a black eye, honestly Yung, I've had worse."

"You've been on this ship six months and you're already turning me grey kiddo," Yung said, shooting Kai an exasperated look. "Just spar with someone your own size next time, like me or Otaku, okay?" Kai muttered something under his breath. "Excuse me Kai, what was that?"

"I said fine," he grumbled, but Yung still didn't look satisfied.

"Thanks for taking care of this, Longshot," Yung said, his annoyance fading. "If there's anything I can do to help you get settled in, let me know. Kai," the kid got off the bed and handed the cloth back to Longshot, his eye already fading to a purplish sort of hue. "What do you say?"

"Thanks," Kai said cheerfully. "I'll try to make sure I'm not in here too often."

That, Longshot later learned, would be an absolute lie.

 _ii._

"What the hell made you think you could take Long Feng on your own, you idiot!"

"Zaheer was busy and-"

"Oh, shut up and sit down before I kill you myself," Yung grumbled. Yung had Kai's arm slung around his shoulder, supporting more than half of the young teenager's weight, as Kai limped into the infirmary. Longshot sighed as they entered. Really, he should have expected this.

Despite being a good deal younger than everyone, and only 14 years old, Kai was in the infirmary twice as much as anyone else. The medic crossed his arms over his chest, asking the wordless question of _What happened this time?_ Longshot had been busy attending to a nasty blow to the head Ryu had gotten (and, besides a bruise, would have a full, speedy recovery) to notice how Kai had gotten hurt.

"He thought it'd be a good idea to challenge Long Feng by himself," Yung said testily. "And, well..." Kai's injury became obvious as he pulled away from the first mate, the teen's shirt sticky with blood off to the side. A small patch, thankfully.

"It's not deep," Longshot reported, surveying the wound, before he had Kai strip off his shirt and began cleaning it. Kai winced, biting back pain. "He'll be fine...so, what did you end up doing to Long Feng?"

Yung's lips twitched upwards. "A broken rib and a black eye."

Longshot nodded approvingly. "Not bad, kid."

"I'm not a kid anymore," Kai reminded him. Yung gave him a stern look. "But I promise, I won't go after Long Feng again by myself. Happy?"

"Not particularly," Yung sighed. "But I guess that's the best I'm gonna get from you." He glanced at Longshot. "Take care of him for me, would you? Zaheer wants everyone else's help loading the Dai Li's gold onto the ship."

Longshot snorted. Taking care of Kai was a 24/7 task he wasn't sure anyone was up to other than Yung. But, Longshot promised himself, he'd sure as hell try.

 _iii._

Even if Longshot didn't say it, he had always known there was tension between Kai and Zaheer. He had just never expected it would end up like this. Longshot sagged under Kai's dead weight, surprised that the boy (now a young man, bleeding out on the deck) could even weigh this much. He couldn't even feel relief when Yung and Otaku came to help, and took a deep breath to calm himself.

This wounds were bad, but he was a medic. This was his job. He could do this. He had to.

Once they had reached the infirmary, Longshot wasted no time knocking the teenager out before setting to work on cleaning the wounds. Thankfully, it was nothing he hadn't seen before.

"Is he-?" Otaku whimpered.

Longshot couldn't help but think about how much worse it would have been. "He's lost quite a lot of blood," Longshot explained, hating the way his voice wavered. "But he'll live."

"And he'll be Captain now," Yung said firmly, and Longshot thought it was fitting, that the boy that had saved them all would be their new leader. Longshot couldn't think of a better choice.

The medic was grateful when the room cleared out of the crew, it was uncomfortable and stuffy to have all of them in there, but he didn't even suggest that Yung should leave: he knew it wasn't up for debate. Longshot checked over Kai's wound and bandages one last time, and nodded, seeing them to his satisfaction, before he leaned against the wall to let his limbs rest.

He caught Yung's worried eyes. "He'll be okay Yung. Kai's always been strong."

"He's just a kid," Yung said, his eyes dropping to Kai's sleeping face. "How is it we let a kid face a man like Zaheer?"

"Kai's the only one who could hold his own against Zaheer," Longshot said simply. "You know that...but I know what you mean." 16 was awfully young. "D'you remember the first day I met him? With the black eye. Reckless idiot. I guess some things don't change with time."

"You're awfully chatty," Yung smiled. "So I guess some things do change."

Longshot smiled a little. "I guess so."

Kai groaned weakly, and his eyes fluttered open. Yung's smile grew. "Nice to have you back, Captain," he greeted.

 _iv._

Yung had never really gotten hurt before. Sure a few scrapes there, a few bruises here, but nothing substantial, nothing worrisome. Until today. Longshot could remember Kai's look of utter panic up on deck as Long Feng had stood over a bleeding Yung with a blade embedded in the first mate's side. He had looked so much like a scared little boy.

Then again, what else would you expect from a man who was seeing the closest thing he had ever had to a father had been stabbed?

Longshot was just grateful Kai had agreed to wait outside of the infirmary. Emotional people were distractions, and as much as Longshot understood the desire to be nearby, it was a desire that would have to go unfulfilled.

The surgery took two hours, to remove the blade but keep the blood inside Yung's body, to ensure no lasting internal damage of the muscles or organs, to clean the wound and then patch it up with a needle and thread, and finally, to wrap a heavy layer of gauze and bandages over it.

Longshot found Kai pacing in the hallway when he stepped out into the infirmary. "Well," he sighed.

He could see the terror in Kai's bright, young green eyes. The poor boy had only been Captain for a few months, still so young, so uncertain. So damaged. "Well, what?"

"He'll live."

A strangled sounding laugh, or sob, escaped the back of Kai's throat. He whispered something to himself, maybe a prayer of thanks to some god or something of the like.

Longshot wondered if this would make the boy more prudent, and mindful, of what he put the rest of them through whenever he got hurt. Probably not. But that was part of the reason they loved him.

 _v._

Whether or not Kai wanted to admit it, or perhaps had even acknowledged it, Longshot knew the Captain's feelings for Jinora Gyatso went much further then he let on. It was one of the benefits of being quiet; you were a natural observer. Even when the woman and the Captain had done nothing but argue, Longshot had seen the way Kai's eyes had lingered on her just a second too long to be nothing.

Longshot had heard the spike of fear in the Captain's voice, standing protectively over Jinora's limp body. His rage at Long Feng. His complete disregard of his own injury. ("Never mind that, just help her.") His gentleness as he scooped Jinora into his arms and carried her down to the infirmary, set her down carefully onto the bed. The wound wasn't deep, but it was gruesome to look at, yet Kai didn't look away, not even for an instant, as Longshot began to clean it.

"How did she get hurt anyway?" Longshot asked quietly, dipping the rag in the rubbing alcohol one more time. Just a bit more would do it.

He almost missed the flash of anger in Kai's eyes, which vanished as soon as it had come. "She..." he trailed off. "I wasn't paying attention, Long Feng - my back was turned and she…pushed me out of the way. She took the knife for me." Kai's voice wavered and he swore loudly.

Longshot frowned. So she had risked her life for him, an impulsive decision surely, but thankfully not a fatal one. But no wonder Kai was so distressed.

"Is she going to be okay?" the Captain asked.

Longshot gave him a small smile. "It isn't deep. We'll have to watch out for infection, but she should be fine, and she should wake up fairly soon, in a few hours."

He saw Kai's shoulders sag with relief, and then finally, the Captain allowed him to treat the head injury he had sustained. And then, when Kai stomped out of the room to go chew out Momo, the medic was grateful he wasn't the one Kai was angry at.

Even as Longshot patched up the rest of the crew (all minor injuries, small scrapes and bruises and nothing to worry about) he saw how Kai kept his eyes trained on Jinora's resting form. Kai stayed behind even as Longshot headed up with the rest of the crew for a very late and haphazard breakfast.

After the meal, Longshot came down the hall, and heard Jinora's voice, and then Kai's laughter, and then smiled.

It seemed like it was as good a time as any to get in on Yung's betting pool for when they'd get together.

 _vi._

Longshot had never felt worse in his entire life. Not when he had broken his arm when he was seven and had his first trip to the doctor. Not when the prettiest girl in school had turned him down in front of everyone. Not even when his father had sighed and told him there was absolutely no way they'd be able to pay for medical school.

Kai was dying, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Longshot had done all he could. He had gone over the injury a million times, sewn it together best he could, racked his brain for any solutions, coming up with nothing. He was exhausted, the stench of blood crawling inside him and coating his tongue, a heavy lump in his throat. It was a struggle to speak, to breathe.

Kai would stop breathing soon.

Longshot felt like he would collapse as he dragged himself out into the dining hall where the crew was gathered. The words sounded mechanical, detached in his mouth. It was the only way he could manage to say it.

Skoochy punched a wall. Jinora went into denial, half-yelling, half-sobbing. The dejected faces of everyone else felt like a punch to the gut - over and over and over again, only this time, like Kai, he couldn't fix it.

And then, suddenly, Momo was bloody brilliant, and there was a way, and a will, and somehow Longshot found the strength to keep walking and moving and working.

He finished the surgery at 5 o'clock in the morning, two hours after starting. As soon as Longshot was content that his work was done, he shared an exhausted, yet grateful look at Yung, and promptly burst into tears. He sank to his knees on the floor, sobbing, his thin frame trembling. Yung draped an arm over his shaking shoulders.

"You did it," Yung muttered, lightly rubbing his upper arm. "You saved him. It's alright Longshot." Longshot's cries quieted after a while, and he sniffled furiously. Yung helped him stand, and guided him over to a chair against the wall. "Get some rest. I'll handle everything else."

Longshot was fast asleep by the time Yung brought Jinora into the infirmary to wait by Kai.

 _vii._

Longshot had treated many types of injuries in his day.

He wasn't particularly worried when he scraped himself up sparring - a tiny cut along his forearm - but he was wary of infection, so he headed down to the infirmary after clapping a hand on Otaku's shoulder to assure the navigator he didn't blame him for the injury. He hadn't realized Kai had followed him. Finally, the Captain's wounds had healed enough over the three months since his fight with Zaheer that he could be as light on his feet as before.

Longshot glanced over his shoulder as Kai walked into the infirmary. "Here," Kai said cheerfully, crossing over to the cupboard and taking out a roll of gauze. "Let me handle that."

Longshot shook his head. "There's no need-"

"I want to," Kai insisted. "Captain's orders."

Longshot sighed, but held out his arm and let Kai roll up his sleeve. Kai carefully dabbed a wet cloth over the thin, shallow line of red, and then wrapped a few layers of gauze over it.

"You're always taking care of us," Kai said quietly, as he snipped the end of the gauze and tied it tightly into a secure knot. "Me especially. So let us take care of you, sometimes, alright?"

"Only if you do," Longshot countered.

The corner of Kai's mouth curved upwards. "Fair enough."


	10. Gyatso

G.y.a.t.s.o

 **Summary:** Pre-Anchor oneshot centring around Jinora and her relationship with her parents.

* * *

 _g._

She is born on a day when the sky is streaked a grey as deep as her father's eyes, streaked with blue. The midwife pronounces her happy and healthy, a good weight, with a small brown curl, and even then, inquisitive, deep brown eyes.

 _A little miracle_ , says her father, his eyes crinkling. She is so tiny, so new. So his.

 _Nobody can love a daughter like her father,_ says her mother, smiling, as Tenzin holds his firstborn with trembling hands.

 _y._

She is four when she learns how to read. Her father is the one who teaches her, as she hops onto his lap and smooths out her skirt and begins reading in a loud, clear voice. She imitates her father's speech-making-voice, which she hears at all the conferences. Her mother says that her father is Governor, and whatever that is, it must be very important, because her mother says she has to be very quiet and behave like a good little girl.

It's harder to do so in Church, because the priest is a lot less interesting than her father. Jinora tries not to fidget, or get annoyed when her baby sister, Ikki, starts crying. Her father says Jinora's a good girl for not crying. It makes her feel proud.

Ikki toddles after her on chubby legs, while she's already mastered the fine art of walking. Meelo is born. Jinora reads her first real novel, a kind of love story. Her father attends a charity fencing match and Jinora likes the way the swords shine.

 _I want to do that._

 _It's not suitable for young ladies, and you're too small,_ says her father.

 _We'll talk about it,_ says her mother.

 _a._

She is nine when she falls out of a tree in the orchard. She isn't even that high up, but it's enough to scare her out of climbing trees ever again. It's not suitable for a young woman, her father chides as he takes her to the family physician, just to make double check is sprained or broken.

Her father stops reading with her. He's running for re-election instead. Her mother stresses the importance of her silence, especially when her little brother Meelo is so unbearably loud and Ikki isn't much better.

She sees wanted posters on the back of the newspapers. Hears rumours of pirates. She isn't sure what to make of it. She doesn't really have any reasons to care.

She's nine, and the world is full of books with happy endings, and the beginnings of fencing lessons, and the beginnings of high society that have yet to choke her.

 _It's uncomfortable._

 _All young ladies wear corsets Jinora,_ says her father.

 _It's better you get used to them young,_ says her mother.

 _t._

She is sixteen when the first mention of suitors and marriage is made. It's said so casually over breakfast she almost misses it, an idle remark made by her mother of Opal BeiFong's coming of age ball, and wondering when she'll get married off. (Opal runs off to be pirate only six months later. Part of Jinora envies her.)

It makes Jinora lose her appetite. Her mother catches the look on her face. You don't have to worry about that yet dear.

Jinora buries herself in books. Ignores her father's re-election. She helps Rohan with his schoolwork, is irritated by Meelo's proud proclamations concerning things he knows nothing about, worries over Ikki's apparentfascination with Opal's older brother, Huan. She sees a glimpse of a pirate on a wanted poster, plastered over the back of the newspaper.

Kai, Captain of the _Waterbender_. Outside of the law, outside of the responsibility. She bets his life is easier.

And then she forgets all about him, when her parents introduce her to LingShi Chow.

 _He's…interesting._

 _He'd make a good match,_ says her father.

 _He's from a respectable family,_ says her mother.

 _s._

She is eighteen and knows how to smile on command and make it look convincing, dancing at her coming-of-age ball and wishes she could be anywhere else. She is nineteen and knows how to cover up a bruise with makeup. She is twenty and has to give up fencing, and burrows back down in her books to hide and because inhaling stories makes it easier to breathe. She is twenty-one, and…

 _Save me._

She stops speaking altogether. She thinks it should be enough of a sign.

It isn't.

 _o._

She is twenty-one and her hands are shaking as she's brought aboard the ship. The men are scarred and heavily tattooed and they certainly look the part of a pirate.

The first man who speaks is younger than the men surrounding him. Something about his stance sets off signals - the way the men are looking to him, as if for answers, his judgement. _Everything went according to plan?_ he asks, sounding sure of himself. She tries to link it to the obnoxiousness of LingShi, but can't manage it. He doesn't seem to wear the same brand of arrogance; his seems heavier, like it's crushing him.

She dismisses the observation when a man with glasses answers, _Of course Captain._

Ah, so it's his fault she's here, and she tells him so, suddenly more confident. Something tells her that they won't actually hurt her; a gamble, a foolish one, but she follows it.

The Captain's anger is a quick burst, but she's surprised at his remorse. Pirates aren't supposed to be sorry. Pirates aren't supposed to care for their crew. Pirates aren't supposed to be human.

She has a feeling that this is going to be a lot more complicated that she thought.

 _That's foolish,_ she imagines her father saying.

 _Why would you think that sweetheart?_ she imagines her mother saying.

For the first time in her life, she ignores them, and she actually feels free.


	11. All The Kisses

all the kisses

 **Summary:** Various kisses all set in the Anchorverse. Because spiritypowers is greedy. Some are Mobu, most are Kainora, all except one set post-Anchor.

* * *

1: Hot, Steamy kiss

There was something about watching him spar that just got to her. It was another thing altogether, however, when _she_ was the one he was sparring with. They had stopped in town, the rest of the crew going out to do errands or shopping. It was Jinora's turn to stay behind with the ship, and Kai had opted to stay behind with her.

Jinora wasn't even sure when she had let go of her sword to tangle her hands in his hair, but she figured it was sometime after he had knocked her sword aside and pinned her against the deck. From there, it had all gone downhill - and by downhill, she meant her pulse had gone uphill as her sweaty skin met his and she yanked him down for a kiss.

He nibbled on her bottom lip, pressing himself harder against her. She parted her lips and gladly let him deepen the kiss, but it didn't last long before he pulled away, their short pants of breath mingling as his lips hovered over hers. "We should probably continue this," he panted, "in our room."

Wordlessly, and still trying to catch her breath, Jinora nodded. "Good idea Captain."

2: Cheek Kiss

Kai was usually the first out of bed. Their first morning after, and after he was moved back into his room from the infirmary, it was proven true. A routine. He'd drag himself out of bed, and pull on fresh pants and shirt, and then before leaving to start his day, he'd bend over and whisper, "Morning, love."

Depending on Jinora's varying levels of wakefulness, she'd either snore or maybe give him a little smile or murmur a groggy, "Good morning," back.

No matter what though, it always brought a smile to Kai's face. He brushed his lips over her cheek, and then straighten up and be ready to greet the day.

How bad could a day really be, if he had her?

3: Nose Kiss

The first time Momo had ever tried to kiss Pabu, he had chickened out halfway. They had finished up mopping for the day, the deck was deserted, the mop closet cramped - it was the perfect opportunity. But Momo had never kissed anyone before, and Pabu always made him feel really nervous and really happy and warm at the same time. If he wanted anyone to be his first kiss, he wanted it to be Pabu.

How did you even kiss someone though? He'd considered asking Kai, but lately it seemed like the Captain didn't really know either, since he seemed incapable of ever kissing Jinora.

Uncle Appa was always telling Momo to toughen up though, when it came to certain things, wasn't he? Wasn't this the perfect time to be brave?

Momo screwed his eyes shut and plucked up his courage and leaned in... and kissed the tip of Pabu's nose as his eyes flew open, wide and terrified as he turned into a blushing, stuttering mess. "Oh!" he squeaked. "I, uh, well-"

Pabu's cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he smiled knowingly. "It's alright Momo, really." He went to leave the mop closet, but hovered in the doorway for a moment. "But just for the record, you missed," he said with a wink, smiling to himself as he left the mop closet.

A tiny smile spread over Momo's face. Next time, next time for sure.

4: Forehead Kiss

He does it without thinking, most of the time. It's because she was shorter than him, and maybe, when he really strains his mind, he has a faint memory of his mother doing it to him as a toddler. But either way, Kai gives Jinora forehead kisses quite often. In the morning, in the evening, when she's sick, or sad, or when she's consoled him after a nightmare. It's a small gesture, but one he finds an infinite amount of comfort in.

He thinks back to the first one he had given her one, in the wake of the sirens' vision, just beginning to understand what he felt for her.

She snuggles closer to him that night, and he presses a kiss to her temple. "What was that for?" she smiles.

He shrugs, pulling her closer. "Nothing," he shrugs. "Everything."

Jinora rises slightly, and brushes back his hair, planting a kiss on his own forehead before settling back down, and he knows she more than understands.

5: Firm Kiss

Usually, Jinora wasn't very jealous. True, there had been the Rizza Incident, but that had been before they were together and Kai was officially hers. Now, she had every reason to be. Sure, Kai had been a ladies man before they had gotten together, and sure, other women were allowed to check him out, but flirting with him was another thing altogether.

She could already hear Kai politely turning them down as she walked over, but it didn't stop her from walking over and interrupting him midway with a firm kiss, sliding her mouth over his lips. "Mine," she breathed into his mouth, pulling away with a grin. She looped her arm through his as she turned back to the disheartened women. "Sorry," she said, not sorry at all. "But he's taken."

Kai wrapped an arm around her waist as the girls left. "You're cute when you're jealous," he murmured, nuzzling into her neck. "And when you're not mad at me," he added, after thinking for a moment.

"Hmm," she smiled. "Nice save. So, thinking we should get out of here, and continue that kiss?"

He grinned. "Gyatso, you just read my mind."

6: Gentle Peck

Jinora didn't usually get sick. Back in secondary school, even in December when the common cold made its way through her boarding school, she had usually managed to avoid it. On a slightly less hygienic pirate ship in cramped quarters, however, she supposed something like this had to happen at one time or another.

The only good thing was that Kai had taken it upon himself to take care of her. And the only real bad thing was that despite him being around, she could barely kiss him, for fear of giving him her cold. He told it was irrational, as they shared a bed, and she stole his clothes all the time without telling him so sometimes he wore them even after she had, but she wouldn't be swayed. No matter how badly she wanted to kiss him.

Kai had just finished feeding her soup, and smiled down at her when he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Captain," she whined, lightly swatting him on the arm. "Now you're going to get sick."

"I'm already sick," he shrugged, grinning. "Lovesick. Besides, you're worth it."

Jinora groaned. "Ugh, fine. Kiss me already, but don't complain when you start coughing."

Kai chuckled as he leaned in towards her. "Wouldn't dream of it."

(And, indeed, when he did fall ill a few days later, he didn't complain; they cuddled in bed instead, and it was still totally worth it.)

7: Romantic Kiss

Kai was no Romeo. He wasn't a prince charming, nor was he effortlessly thoughtful or romantic, and as much as Jinora might have wished for those things once upon a time, she had peace with it. The last thing he had expected was that he would start quoting lines from her favourite romance novels.

"Thou art the sunrise of an everlasting night," he quoted, clearly extremely proud of himself. And maybe it was a little cheesy, or sappy, or whatever, but her heart melted because above all else it was romantic.

Jinora smiled as he pulled her into his arms. "And thou art the stars that make the darkness bright, and night belongs to the lovers of young and old, night everlasting a treasure untold," she recited, smiling sweetly at him. She wondered if Kai knew the next line (probably not) and it merely made her smile grow as she leaned into kiss him.

Her silly romantic pirate.

8: Eyelid Kiss

"You are lucky it wasn't your eye," Longshot told Pabu, as he wrapped bandages around the redhead's brow. It had been a particularly close cut after a nasty run-in with the Dai Li, and Momo was just grateful the injury wasn't more serious.

Pabu's big brown eyes were one of Momo's favourite things about him. Once Longshot was satisfied, and went to attend to other injuries (all minor, thankfully) Momo took Pabu's face in his hands and pressed a kiss over the redhead's eyelid.

Pabu half-laughed. "What're you doing Momo?"

"Appreciating you," Momo answered.

Pabu smiled. "Go on, then, I won't stop you."

9: Jawline Kiss

It was one of those rare mornings Kai could stay in bed. Jinora had sleepily curled into his chest and arms, blindly reaching for his face and stroking her fingers along his jawline, fingers light and warm. Kai happily leaned into her touch, stifling a yawn as she raised herself upwards slightly, and presses kisses along his jawline, faint laughter catching in her throat at the stubble she found there.

"You need to shave," she mumbled.

"Hmm," he said, shrugging. "Later."

For once, Jinora decided not argue with him as he pulled her closer and she buried her face in his neck.

10: Neck Kiss

After some time together, Kai was more than adept at knowing what Jinora liked, and what she loved, and one of those things was neck kisses. Kai tilted her chin up with his hands, her body flush against his with her back against the wall as he ducked his head and brought his mouth to the base of her neck.

Jinora clutched at his shirt as his mouth trailed upwards, sucking and nibbling on her sweet spots, nipping at her tender flesh. She needed his shirt off now. She needed his body pressing into her so hard it almost hurt.

Kai grinned against her neck as her hands went down to the buttons of his shirt. "So predictable Gyatso," he mused.

"Just get these clothes off of me," she said hoarsely, slightly breathless as he kept on trailing sloppy kisses up and down her neck.

Kai pressed a kiss to the crook of her neck. "And I thought it was the Captain who gave the orders."

11: Collarbone Kiss

Kai really, really hated the way Jinora's blouse showed off her shoulders sometimes. Her skin was a smooth, creamy white, soft and warm to the touch. The low-cut of her blouse's front showed off the swell of her breasts, the dip of her collarbone. It was very distracting, and frustrating, because all he wanted to do was trail kisses along that dip, up her shoulders, up her neck to her lips...

"Captain?" Jinora's brow furrowed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he shrugged.

(And every time they made love, he'd trail his mouth along that dip, the stretch of her skin over her collarbone, because she was his, now, and it still felt too good to be true sometimes.)

12: Chest Kiss

Kai's skin was covered in scars. Jinora had spent hours familiarizing herself with them, the way they stretched across his back and arms and chest, the stories behind each one, the way they sometimes criss-crossed or overlapped. Most of them were on his back, but they were a few across his chest.

Jinora trailed over the scar spread across his chest over his heart with her finger, before pressing her lips against it. How close had she come, to losing him that day before they had even met? She felt Kai comb his fingers through her hair as she pulled away slightly and rested her head over his scar, over his heart.

"Come back to me," she murmured.

Kai pulled her closer. "I'll try," he promised, and it was enough.

13: Stomach Kiss

"Do you want kids?"

The question caught him off guard. They had been lying in bed after a long day, and they had been drifting off (or at least he had) when her question had snapped him awake. "Uh, yeah," he said, looking curiously at her through the dark, finding her brown eyes glittering as they stared back at him. He cupped the side of her face that wasn't pressed against her pillow and stroked his thumb over her cheek. "I've told you that."

"Yeah," she said softly. "But that was before we were together, so I just wondered..."

Kai laughed lightly. "Gyatso - Jin," he pulled her closer, but shifted his weight so his face was resting against her belly. He kissed her flat stomach, thinking of the life that could grow inside; his and hers and _theirs_. "If anything...you make me want kids even more," he gave her a bright, lopsided grin, closing his eyes in pleasure as she ran her fingers through his hair.

He could hear the smile in her voice as she said, "I know what you mean."

14: Kiss Along the Hips

Kai loved Jinora's hips. Even back when he had been up to his neck in denial of finding any part of her attractive or even remotely likeable, the swing of her round, curved hips had drawn him in. Then, later, just above her left hip was the scar from Long Feng's dagger, a mark of love for him, and Kai thought it was only fitting for him to cover her hips in marks of _his_ love for her.

Jinora wound her fingers through his hair as he trailed kisses along the curve of her hips, pausing by her right one. The tattoo ink had finally dried, leaving a small, simply elegant anchor tattoo imprinted on her skin. She had gotten it a week ago from the best tattoo parlour around, and he traced it with his fingers.

He could still remember how shocked he had been when she said she wanted a tattoo. The spark that had run up his hand when she had placed it over where she wanted. And now he could touch her wherever he wanted. He stroked his thumb over the small black anchor.

 _It'd remind me of you,_ she had said.

 _But you'd have it forever,_ he had replied, touched and uncertain all at once.

 _I guess I would._

Kai pressed a soft kiss over the tattoo, before looking up at Jinora, who was gazing down fondly at him. "Still want me forever?" he whispered.

She smiled. "You know I do."

He rose to kiss her lips, murmuring, "Good," against her mouth, before he lost himself in her.

15: Kiss in the Rain

Appa had told him to bring an umbrella, his uncle pointing out the growing grey clouds in the sky, and now Momo wished he had listened. "I'm sorry about this," he told Pabu, as they took shelter under an empty stall's canopy. The rain was coming down hard and they were more than a few blocks away from where the ship was moored.

"Don't be," Pabu said. "I really like the rain. Back when I worked as a bartender, whenever it rained, the pub would be more crowded than ever and I'd make a huge money and meet lots of great people. And now I get to be with you, which is even better."

Momo's whole face turned red. "I've always wanted to play in the rain," he admitted, shrugging and biting down on his bottom lip. He glanced at Pabu, who nodded and grinned. Momo grabbed his hand and dragged him out into the rain.

The bottom of their pants were flecked with rain and mud as they sloshed through, jumping into puddles in an attempt to splash the other. Momo slipped on a patch of mud and Pabu caught him by the arms just in time. By now, they were soaked, Momo's curly hair plastered to his cheeks with rain, Pabu's fiery red hair turned to a darker shade as the water droplets trailed down their faces.

Momo's hands went up to the collar of Pabu's shirt, and he pulled the shorter boy in for a kiss. Pabu's arms wound around his torso, and he pulled away, cheeks flushed and a wide grin on his face as Momo dissolved into giggles. The rain had just started to let up, as the tip of Pabu's nose pressed into Momo's.

"We should probably head back now," he said, nuzzling into Momo's cheek.

Momo ran his fingers through Pabu's damp hair. "Before we dry off, let's take a picture first," he requested, and Pabu nodded again with the same wild, happy grin on his face.

16: Upside-Down Kiss

"Can you let me up?" Kai whined. It hadn't been his intention to get all tangled up in the ropes, and now lying on the floor on his back, helplessly trapped with his girlfriend smiling down at him.

"No," she said, half-laughing.

He pouted at her. "Gyatso, you are having way too much with this."

"So what if I am Captain?" she smirked. "What are you going to do about it?" She got down on her knees beside him, still smirking as she brought his head onto her lap, lightly combing her fingers through the tousled top of his hair.

"Stay like this?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

Jinora leaned down so her lips were hovering over his. "Mm, maybe," she said, leaning in. If they didn't kiss so often, it might've been harder to navigate it with their heads in opposite positions, but she confidently moved her mouth against his, nibbling on his upper lip before pulling away, smiling at his faint breathlessness. "Alright, now I can help you up."

Kai grabbed her arm to stop her. "I don't mind waiting a little longer."

She laughed again. "Of course you don't."

17: Goofy Kiss

Myuna was very aware that even after all these years (well, seven, but to a six year old seven was a long time) her parents were still very in love. Grandpa Yung said it was because of all his hard work, but she didn't know if that was true. She had heard stories from Uncle Lefty and Uncle Skoochy that her parents hadn't always been so in love, but it was hard to imagine.

"Daddy," she whined, when her father kissed her mother on the mouth at breakfast. "Gross!"

Kai grinned at her. "It's not gross Yuna," he said cheerfully. "It's nice."

"Kissing is gross," his daughter insisted, crossing her arms over her chest. She had, unfortunately (or fortunately) inherited both her parents' penchants for stubbornness.

Kai made a silly face, and a laugh burbled out of her, even as Jinora made an equally silly face before giving her husband a kiss with their goofy faces smushed together.

Maybe kissing wasn't that gross.

18: Underwater Kiss

It was the last hot night before autumn and winter would arrive and ruin the pleasant, warm breeze rolling over the waters. The _Waterbender_ was anchored practically in the middle of nowhere, about halfway down the Gold Coast but with no plans to go anywhere until the next day. It only made sense they needed to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them.

Alright, Jinora conceded, maybe you couldn't use logic when it came to skinny dipping, but she honestly didn't care.

The water was warm against her skin as she dropped from the side of the ship, and Kai landed beside her. Jinora laughed as she resurfaced, before Kai pulled her back under the water. She swiftly retaliated by grabbing his face and pulling him in for an underwater kiss, and found herself thinking that really, they should go skinny dipping more often.

19: Forceful Kiss

Getting mad at each other was something Kai and Jinora were very familiar with. Kissing in the middle of an argument was also something they were experts in. The kiss didn't mean the argument was over, far from it; it was merely an extension, as Jinora forced him against the wall and jammed her tongue into his mouth, her lips rough and demanding.

"You're an idiot," she muttered.

"I could say the same to you," he mumbled, before she pressed her lips firmly against his and he spun them with a growl, so now she was the one pinned.

They could figure out who won the fight later.

20: Any of the Above  
(im going to add drunk kiss because really AND PRE-ANCHOR BECAUSE PAIN)

"You're beautiful."

Jinora snorted. "You're drunk," she replied, knowing the Captain never would have said anything of the like if he was sober, but it still had heat rushing her to her cheeks. She hated him a little for it, and seriously considered sliding out from under his arm as she helped support his weight, but thought that'd be a little too mean, and they were almost at his door anyway.

Kai glanced at his door as if surprised to see it. "You walked me home," his words slurred together, but she was surprised at how, well, adorable he sounded.

"I'm not tucking you into bed," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Kai pouted at her.

"You're mean."

"So I've been told, Captain," she said, smiling slightly. "Now get to bed." When Kai didn't move, she rolled her eyes and strolled forwards and grabbed his door handle. "See, you turn it like this," she said, demonstrating and glancing back up at him...and suddenly realized just how close his face was to hers. Her hand slid off the door knob as she turned around to face him fully, swallowing hard. She was practically trapped in between him and the door.

Kai took a step closer, studying her thoughtfully, but there was something else in his eyes she couldn't quite pin down. The alcohol, probably, she reasoned. She could smell it on his breath as he leaned in slightly. "Captain," she said, wanting to kick herself for sounding breathless. "You - you're drunk."

That was the only reason he was doing this, she figured.

"Not that drunk," he whispered, and she felt her knees go weak. His breath was warm, his lips more so, as they slid over hers, clumsily at first, and then more firmly, more certain.

Despite herself, Jinora kissed back, sliding her tongue along the seam of his lips, suddenly impatient as her hands went up to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. Who knew when she'd get to do this again. Hopefully he was just drunk enough to forget it, in the morning. But what if he wasn't?

Moaning softly, she let her lips linger against his for another moment before she pushed him away. "You're drunk," she repeated, her voice cracking.

Kai frowned as she opened his door and steered him inside, leaving him alone in his room as quickly as possible, as if not trusting herself if she stayed in there too long. Kai's frown deepened.

 _Sober thoughts,_ he thought glumly to himself.

In the morning, with a raging headache, he wondered why Jinora was acting so distant from him. He wished he could remember if he had done something wrong.

21: Then there's tongue

It had been way too long.

Jinora knew that autumn was the busiest time of the year due to all the trading, but after hitting all the ports along the Gold Coast, day in and day out, she and Kai and the rest of the crew had been exhausted every night when they finally came back from the markets, or from sailing to another port.

Still, Jinora knew exactly what Kai was going for when he quickly shut their bedroom door. "Impatient?" she teased, raising an eyebrow at him, but her smirk faded when she saw the hunger in his eyes, and a chill ran down her spine.

"Like you wouldn't believe," he said hoarsely, pulling her into his arms. His lips crashed into hers, and she eagerly slid her tongue into his mouth. His hands went up to cup her face as he backed her into the wall, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he continued to kiss her fiercely, running his tongue along the seams of her lips, before his mouth descended hungrily onto her neck.

Way. Too. Long.


	12. The Mother We Share

the mother we share

She loves her little brother. / Kai had an older sister. Pre-Anchor, oneshot.

* * *

Vaguely, some tickling memory in the back of her mind, she can remember the day he was born. Their mother is at home, lying in a bath of water she had drawn for herself. They are the only two people in their house, along with a their next-door neighbour who used to be something called a mid-wife. Their father isn't here, off sailing. Or drinking. Or probably both. At six years old she is far more intuitive than she should be.

Her mama calls her name softly, weakly. Her mother's hair is plastered to her face from sweat, but she's never seen her mother look happier. "Come here, sweetheart. Meet your baby brother."

He is bright, and kind of squishy looking, but beautiful. They look nothing alike; he is all her mother, from the shades of their skin to the green of his eyes.

But he's hers.

"What's his name?"

"Kai. It's your job to take care of him," her mother smiles. "Can you do that for me?"

Well, she thinks. She can try.

And she does. She carries Kai around when her mother is busy washing clothes, or making clothes, or some other kind of work that puts food on the table. She shushes him and tries to help him when Kai starts teething. She helps feed him baby food, keeps him distracted and happy while their mother stitches up the holes in their clothing, humming a lullaby while she works.

Kai's first word is _Ma_ and his second is _Sissy_ for her, and it warms her heart.

There's always food on the table, somehow, and Kai's short hair is always a mess, and they're nearly always happy.

Except when her father comes home from his trips. Sometimes he's pleasant, sometime he's angry. Sometimes he's drunk and angry; those are always the worst times. The times their mother makes them hide.

"Sissy why we gotta-"

"Shh." She takes his chubby little hand and leads him into their parents' bedroom closet. "We have to wait in here." She sits in the dark cramped space with Kai in her lap, and smooths down his hair and keeps him as quiet as possible. Mama said it was always important to be quiet.

Their parents aren't. Their father shouts and Mama shouts back and sometimes it sounds like Mama's crying. Sometimes once father's gone again Mama's face has purple and blue marks, but she's always wearing a smile when she comes to get them out of the closet. Gives them extra dessert.

On stormy nights when father's gone for months on end, they crawl into bed with her and curl up in her arms. Those are the mornings Mama smiles the brightest.

"My two little miracles," she'll say, ruffling Kai's hair, and then braids her daughter's.

Kai knows that his big sister is the best big sister in the whole entire world. Sissy helps teach him how to walk, and how to talk. She sounds words out for him. Once is hair is nearly long enough she weaves in little braids, just like how Mama taught her. She makes sure father doesn't hurt him. Why their father wants to hurt any of them is something the toddler just can't understand, but he knows when father's angry equals closet, because father's anger is a bad, bad thing.

Sissy can't quite explain why, but Kai thinks she knows. That Mama knows too.

It doesn't bother him much. He's two; he just wants to nap and play with his blocks. Sometimes when Mama is too busy Sissy will carry him to his big boy bed.

He looks a lot like Mama. Sissy helps him learn colours and words. "Your eyes are green like Mama's."

"Yours eyes green," he says, and Sissy smiles.

"Yes. But there are different types of green." She points at his eyes in the cracked mirror in the bathroom, and then at her own. Kai cries, because he loves Mama but he also loves Sissy too, and he wants to be like both of them. Sissy shushes him. "It's okay," she assures him. "You look like Mama, but see?" she grins. "We might have the same smile, but you have to smile so we can tell."

Kai gives her a toothy grin. It isn't the same, but she doesn't tell him. They really don't look very much alike, but that doesn't bother her. They're still brother and sister, and they still have Mama, and father's off at sea, and everything is good.

Sissy starts losing teeth and Kai helps her collect them and keep them in a jar. She wants to make necklace, but Mama says it probably isn't a very good idea. "If you want, you can sell them to some Sea Witches down the street," Mama suggests.

Sissy nods. There's a shop with fancy plants - an apothecary, Mama calls it - but they just call it the plant store. Sea witches have magic, Kai knows, although he's not sure entirely what that means. Sissy holds his hand while they walk down the street, his other in Mama's. She comes with them everywhere. Kai doesn't see a reason for that to ever change.

The sea witches don't have a lot of teeth, but they do have a lot of wrinkles and grey hair. There's one witch who's very young and fair, with blue eyes like the Water Tribes and shocking white hair and a very pretty smile. She looks them up and down and her smile falters slightly, but she gives them 5 silver pieces.

Mama looks like she might cry. "Miss, you don't-"

"I want to."

So they leave with the money, and Mama buys Kai a new outfit because he's growing, and gets Sissy a new hair tie, and everything is better than good.

It's not raining or a thunderstorm, but Sissy carries him over to Mama's bed anyway, and they curl up with her. She strokes Kai's hair as he falls asleep, presses a kiss to his temple. "I love you baby," she murmurs, her voice going drowsy with sleep. Her daughter is curled around Kai's other side - like their front-and-back shields for the tiny boy - and she knows her daughter will keep her promise.

Kai will always be safe. Kai will always be loved.

When Sissy sees Mama die, she realizes that promises are broken, and so is the world.


	13. Second Chances

Second Chances

 **Summary:** After getting yelled at by Zaheer, a 10-year-old Kai runs off in the most lawless city in the pirate world. For the first time, someone runs after him. ANCHORverse. [Kai&Yung friendship]

* * *

Yung knew the moment he woke up something was wrong. It was like an innate sixth sense, a gut feeling he had grown to trust after nearly six years of being a pirate. Most of the crew were pretty light sleepers, a habit after waking up in the middle of nighttime raids to the jarring chaos of a sword fight. Still, this was different. This, Yung somehow knew, was worse.

And, almost immediately, he knew what the source of wrongness was: Kai.

Not that there was anything wrong with the boy himself. Kai was rough around the edges, but he was smiling more every day, and he didn't flinch whenever someone shouted anymore and had stopped acting like they were going to hit him whenever he messed up, which was all Yung could have really hoped for after a year.

Still, with the incident from earlier that day... Kai had been carrying a crate of supplies from the storage room up to Otaku's desk on deck. It had been too heavy for him, he had slipped, and the crate had gone overboard. Yung should have noticed, should have gotten someone else to help him, Zaheer's insistence that the boy could do it on his own be damned. But he had been busy talking with Appa about visiting the man's sister Menli and his nephew Momo, and he hadn't noticed. Zaheer had been furious, had shouted at Kai in front of everyone, gesturing wildly with his hands, and Yung could see Kai struggling not to break down on the spot. None of them had ever gotten so mad at him before, and Yung had managed to piece together enough that for Kai, anger meant abuse, or abandonment.

Yung hadn't even had a chance to stop Zaheer's lecture, before the Captain had finished and Kai had run to his small room of the cabin boy's quarters, and hadn't come out since. Yung had knocked before and after dinner, and left a plate of food by the door, although it had remained untouched. He had wanted to do more, but Zaheer had given him even more work to do than usual as first mate, especially since the lawless pirate capitol, Tiantang otherwise known as Paradise, was where they were docked, and they were always very busy.

It was only out of respect for Kai's feelings and privacy that Yung hadn't forced the door open, but now as he headed to the room in the early morning, he wished he had. "Kai?" Yung knocked loudly on the door. "Kiddo?" No response, not that there had been any before, but his worry only increased. "Kai, I'm coming in."

Yung turned the handle, and opened the door. The sheets of Kai's bed was messy, and there was a sock on the floor. There wasn't much inside the room at any time, of course, just some clothes, most of them hand-me-downs that Imaru had tailored to fit him better, and Kai's knife from his time on the streets was always on his small bedside table. On his dresser, normally, there was a small statue of a six-legged bison, a trinket Yung had noticed Kai to be fond of, so he had brought it for him; Yung suspected it was the first time the child had ever received a gift. The only other thing in the room was a knapsack that typically hung on the right knob of his dresser that Kai used when he needed to take things into town, for whatever reason.

Now all of that was gone. The statue, the knapsack ―Yung opened the drawers of Kai's dresser to find them void of clothing― and his heart sank when he realized Kai had taken his knife too. He never went anywhere without it. The only thing that was still there was the bison statue, as if Kai hadn't been able to bring himself to take it with him. A kind of silent apology.

Yung's heart lodged itself in his throat. _Damn it all to hell_ ―Kai had run off. In Paradise. Where slave traders would see no issue in selling off a young boy; where muggers wouldn't hesitate to kill him to take what little he had; where any number of street or bar fights could easily become fatal.

 _No._

Yung immediately ran to Lefty, trying to get his voice to work through his panic. They couldn't tell Zaheer, he'd freak and he wouldn't let them look for Kai ("Boy's own fault," had been said on more than one occasion when Kai had gotten hurt in a sparring match or some other accident). "Akash!" Yung gasped out. "Kai―he's―he's _gone._ "

Yung felt close to tears as Lefty's brow furrowed, and he placed his large hands on Yung's shoulder. "He's run off?" Lefty said with wide eyes, and Yung nodded, feeling desperation claw at him from the inside. Who knew how long ago Kai had run off, sometime in the night Yung was sure. Who knew how much of a head start the boy had, who knew what had happened in such a large and dangerous city. "We gotta find him. Cap can't know, but I'll round up some of the crew who'll be able to sneak off ―we'll find him, Yung."

One of the benefits of having one of the smaller pirate crews, on one of the smaller ships, was that news could be easily hidden and easily spread. Within ten minutes, a quarter of their current crew of around 20 members had gathered on the dock. They were too small to be divided into separate search parties, but Yung knew that Lefty was their best bet at finding Kai before someone who wanted to hurt him did.

"Where do we go first?" Ryu asked, a crease forming in his brow as he frowned, looking genuinely worried.

"Well, if you were a scared, starving kid, where would you go?" Lefty asked.

"Somewhere with food," Imaru said.

"Abandoned, so you don't run into anyone either," Appa added.

Otaku stared down at the cheap map of Paradise Lefty had bought. "It says there's some warehouses that store supplies for multiple gangs over here." Otaku pointed out the little cluster of squares. "Maybe he's gone there?

"It's worth a shot," Yung said, trying to steady his voice. Now was not the time to lose his head.

The gang warehouses were within the inner rim of Paradise, but still further in than most of the bigger businesses or taverns. They scoured the dirty, crowded streets, looking over the heads of thieves, murderers, and god knows what else. Once, when Yung had looked down an alleyway, he had seen three rotting corpses hanging from what had initially, he assumed, been someone's laundry line, strung in between the two buildings. He turned away feeling sick. This city was no place for a man who couldn't handle himself, and even then, and it certainly was no place for a young boy who was vulnerable no matter how much Kai had protested it.

They had a day, maximum, to search before Zaheer could get suspicious, and they were already going to have to lie their asses off about what they had been doing throughout the day, so Yung felt a brief rush of relief when they reached the warehouses by mid-morning. His feet were sore, and he suspected all of them were feeling the same way, except maybe Lefty, who oddly enough no matter how much he danced or ran or walked, never had sore feet.

"D'you think he's in there?" Ryu said, a trace of worry in his voice.

"I hope so," Yung said anxiously, but reached for the small dagger tucked into his belt; they didn't know what they were going to find in there, after all. What if the one of the gangs had decided to pay a visit and turned out to be territorial?

They checked the warehouses as they went along, although it was a slow process. Yung was too scared to call out in case it alerted their presence to some kind of enemy, or somehow put Kai into danger. The warehouses were huge, and he also worried that maybe, if Zaheer had frightened Kai enough, Kai didn't want to be found, which would be a whole complication in of itself.

Then again, he doubted Kai believed they would come look for him.

Yung had learned enough to know that whatever family Kai had had been gone for a very long time. Read the signs enough to know Kai had never been shown any kindness at whatever orphanage he had been given to, had gotten mixed up with some of the gangs in Omashu. Kai had never said it outright, but Yung had learned to read between the lines, and string together the snippets of information that leaked through Kai's lips during the rare occasions the boy was not only happy, but with his guard down.

They had made their way through the first ring of warehouses, around 5 or so, and Yung was beginning to think they'd never find him. Lefty placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing Yung's gaze upwards from the ground. "We'll find him, Yung," Lefty said gently, and Yung gave him a weak but appreciative smile.

 _I hope so._

When Yung had become so dependent on the boy, he wasn't sure. Before, Yung had thought his life was busy enough, as Zaheer continued to give more and more of the Captain's duties to his first mate. His mornings were spent running over the budget and routes with Otaku, the afternoon for chores, and sometimes he did paperwork late into the night. He could remember bringing Kai on board the ship, accepting the boy as his responsibility, and wondering how exactly he was going to fit raising a child into his schedule.

But then Kai had become his priority, and everything had changed. Now, Yung's first thought in the morning wasn't of chores, or money, but the boy. Had Kai slept well? Was he eating enough food? Was Kai safe, or making another reckless decision like sparring with Ryu, who was too big and old for him? He kept one ear listening for Kai's voice, in case there was a quiet plea for help he was reluctant to say, or just a question, because even though he was still on the quieter side, Kai had gotten better and better at asking questions. Most of them were generic ―where does this go? Is it a big port? What chores did he have today?― but once Kai had asked Yung if he had ever loved anybody.

"I have," Yung had said. "My parents, but they're gone. And I had a girl once, but she's gone too. And I love the crew like brothers."

 _And I love you._

Yung hadn't said it at the time. Kai was still so fragile, so uncertain. Sarcasm and snark was still his first defence, even if some of his walls had fallen. Yung hadn't wanted to scare him.

Now, he wished he had said it. Maybe if he had Kai would still be here, not lost in the most dangerous city in the world.

Yung was wallowing in ―not his own regret was something, but it definitely hurt just as much― when he heard shouting coming from a warehouse to his left. It sounded like deep men's voices, and Yung raced over to the door, closely followed by his men. Lefty held him back before he could open the door.

"Are you crazy?" Lefty hissed.

"Kai might be in there―"

"Which is why," Ryu said in his usual monotone. "We have to do this carefully. Calm down."

Yung took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just...worried."

"Of course," Daw said with a slight smile. "He's your kid."

Yung swallowed hard; Daw was right, of course. They all were. "Okay, so how are we doing this then? We don't how many are in there."

"You're the first mate," Longshot said quietly. "You tell us."

"Well," Yung said slowly. "We'll go in together. Like any other raid. Otaku, Daw, your main job is searching the place for Kai. The rest of us will deal with whoever is inside. Merchant ship strategies, I think. Don't kill unless you have to." They had all been fighting alongside each other for long enough that any other orders weren't necessary as Yung slowly opened the door, and they crept inside single file.

Yung led the way, with Ryu and Longshot flanking either side of him. Imaru and Appa brought up the middle, with Lefty trailing behind like a massive shield, protecting their rear. Short rows of crates were stacked, yet far from reaching the ceiling, and there was a large open space in the centre of the warehouse.

Gathered in the centre was a ring of men of various builds and heights, but they all wore loose jackets with a symbol of a _T3T_ printed ing gold lettering on the back: the Triple Threat Triads. Although it was rare for pirates to get caught up in gang business, as most never stuck around anywhere permanently enough to do so (and pirates had a pretty strict "trade with your own kind" rule anyway, most of the time), the name felt familiar somehow.

Kai had mentioned it, Yung suddenly remembered. Once, before the boy had abruptly shut his mouth. About how the Triads were one of Omashu's most prominent gangs, and that Kai had done a bit of work for them once. From Kai's tone, Yung had guessed it had ended badly, and part of him wanted to storm in there and knock some heads, even if it wasn't entirely necessary.

And then he saw Kai on his knees in the centre of the ring the men had formed. Kai had his face towards the ground, and Yung could see drops of blood hitting the floor.

"Think you can steal from us and get away with it, you little shit?!" a burly man with spiky hair seethed. The way the rest of the men looked at him signalled him out as the leader.

"I didn't have any other choice!" Kai spat out. "You left me there to take the fall for your mistakes, what else was I supposed to do―"

The spiky haired man drew back his hand. "You little shithole―"

"Leave him alone!" Yung's voice rang out without thinking. All of the Triad's eyes snapped to him, while Kai looked up with an expression of total disbelief, a trickle of blood trailing down from his nose, and a split lip.

"Yung?" Kai stared at him.

"What're you doing trespassing in our territory?" the spiky haired man barked. Yung watched as the man's pale eyes flickered down to their swords, and then back up again, and Yung knew the man knew what they were: pirates. Who were much more of a threat than some puny gang boys.

"Looking for him," Yung answered. "So let him go, and we won't have a problem." Yung could see Kai still on his knees with his head down, trembling as the boy curled further in on himself.

"This piece of shit stole from us months ago," the spiky haired man snapped. "He has to pay. Look, we don't wanna hurt you―"

"I can't say the same," Yung growled. "He's one of us, and now let him go!"

Yung, normally, hated attacking first. It typically wasn't wise, whether as a strategy nor as a temperament, since it was better to avoid conflict when possible. This was not a regular occasion, however, and as Yung jerked his head forwards the crew moved in the same direction, swords drawn.

Half of the Triads fled on the spot ―"I am _not_ losing my head to a bunch of pirates!"― while the remainder shakily drew their own weapons. The fight was quick, and relatively bloodless, with no fatal injuries (even if that may have been the goal of Yung's stab at the spiky haired man's side). Lefty, Imaru, and Appa's size was a definite strength as they easily knocked the men out, while Longshot fought his way towards Kai in the centre, checking the child over for any other injuries.

Yung knocked the spiky haired man hard over the head with the butt of his sword, and the man crumpled to the ground. Yung kicked him hard in the ribs for good measure, before turning his attention to Kai, who Longshot had helped into a standing position, while Daw hit the last man standing in the face with a frying pan.

And then it was just Kai, rubbing at his bloody nose.

* * *

The silence after the last man fell was nearly unbearable, and it hurt more than any physical blow Kai had ever received. Yung's eyes were burning as the rest of the crew that came with him ―Otaku, Ryu, Imaru, Appa, Daw, Longshot, Lefty― double-checked that whoever hadn't run off of the Triple Threat Triads were knocked out good and proper.

It felt like shame had him in a chokehold, and Kai couldn't bring himself to even look at Yung as the first mate came to a halt in front of him. He'd known him long enough that he knew Yung wouldn't hit him, and that Yung would't stand for anyone else to doing it either. But Kai was sure he was going to get the lecture of a lifetime, that if he hadn't already guaranteed himself getting thrown off _The Waterbender_ , he had now. If Kai could cry ―if that damned orphanage hadn't already beaten it out of him― he would have.

"Yung," his voice broke. "I..."

There was nothing he could say to make this better. The one person ― _the one damn person in his entire shitty life_ ― who gave him a chance, who was always kind and patient and generous and trusted and cared about him... The one person Kai could remember genuinely caring about him, and he thought for a moment that if he had a better understanding of what love was, he might have called it that, and Kai had gone and stabbed him in the back. And then what did Yung do? Came back and saved his sorry ass when he definitely didn't deserve it.

Yung raised one hand, and for a moment Kai thought maybe Yung would hit him, when instead Yung threw his arms around him in a hug that nearly knocked him off his feet. " _Do you have any idea how worried I've been_?" Yung cried, one of his hands resting protectively over the back of Kai's head. Kai kept his arms to his sides, his mind reeling from shock. "You could have been killed, or taken or―Don't you ever run off like that again, do you understand me? If anything happened to you, I―"

"Yung, I'm alright," Kai said weakly, his voice turning soft. "Really." He didn't understand. Yung wasn't angry...? Or at least, his concern was much larger than any anger he was feeling. He remembered coming back to his orphanage with the police officer, and getting the worst beating of his entire life. And now it had happened again; Yung had found him after he had run away. But he was hugging him.

Yung had hugged him before, but Kai could still count on one hand how many times it had happened, and less how many times Kai had hugged him back. For the first time, though, Kai wrapped his arms tightly around Yung, and buried his face in the first mate's shoulder. "I'm sorry." His voice dropped to a whisper, barely audible. "I'm sorry, I thought you'd throw me out so I―I'm sorry―I don't understand, why are you here? I thought―"

"Of course I'm here," Yung said softly, his voice thick with tears. "You're my kid."

Kai's narrow shoulders shook as he hugged Yung tighter. "No one's ever come back for me," he choked out, his voice barely audible. "No one's ever cared―I'm sorry, I'm so sorry―"

"Shh," Yung said gently. "It's okay. I'm not mad, I'm just glad you're okay. Everything's going to be alright."

Kai shook his head against Zaheer's shoulder, still trembling. "Are―are you going to tell Zaheer?"

The Captain would throw him off the ship for sure, and he knew that Yung knew it too. The first mate glanced back at the crew, all serious looking but also relieved, and the silent decision was unanimous. Yung smiled a little. "Nah, kiddo. It'll be our secret," he promised.

Yung thought Kai might have started crying, as the boy reached up to rub his eyes, but he didn't say anything, even though Kai was indeed feeling tears sting at his eyes. "Thank you," Kai managed. "Thank you thank you thank you―"

Yung rubbed soothing circles into Kai's back. "It's okay kiddo, really. You're my kid. It's my job to take care of you."

Yung wondered if anyone had ever taken care of Kai. How long it had been since then. Kai just took a deep breath. "S-so you're really not going to let Zaheer throw me out?"

"No," Yung repeated softly. "Never. You're stuck with us kid. Let's get back to the ship, alright? You gave us quite a scare, and you missed breakfast. You can go back home and get some rest, hmm?"

"Yeah." Kai's voice was shaky at best. He pulled away from Yung and looked at the other members of the crew who had come with the first mate, his bottom lip trembling. "I..."

Daw noticed a knapsack thrown away on the ground, and picked it up. "I think this is yours," he smiled gently, holding it out to Kai.

Kai's fingers were trembling as he took it, and then slung it over his shoulders. "T-thanks."

Lefty patted him on the back and shrugged. "It's what a crew does. We take care of each other."

Slowly, one corner of Kai's mouth lifted. "Yeah...I guess so."

* * *

After Ryu had delivered their expertly crafted lie to Zaheer as to where they had been all morning and a good part of the afternoon, Yung found Kai by his bed in the main sleeping quarters. Kai had curled up in it after eating, but as far as Yung knew the kid hadn't fallen asleep.

Yung sat down cautiously on the side of Kai's bed. "Kid?" He laid a tentative hand on Kai's shoulder.

"'M awake," Kai mumbled, sitting up to look at him, his green eyes suddenly full of emotion too intense for Yung to identify. "Yung, I..." his voice trailed off in a sigh as he kept his gaze on his bed, unable to meet Yung's eyes again. "No one's ever taken care of me before. Not really." The words came out in a hurried rush, as if Kai was afraid if he paused for too long he wouldn't have the courage to say them. "My parents have been dead since I was two, and I'm not used to having someone worry or care about me or anything." Kai swallowed hard. "I've always had to take care of myself and I've never really belonged somewhere. But...but I think I belong here. And thank you―for g-giving me a chance. And not giving up on me. No one's ever done that before, so I'm not very good at―at handling it. But I'm gonna try to be better."

Kai stole a peek at Yung, and his eyes widened in panic when he realized Yung was crying. "I'm sorry, don't cry―I know I'm a lot of work, you don't have to put up with me―"

Kai's voice broke off in surprise when Yung pulled him into another tight hug. "I'm crying because I'm _happy_ ," Yung explained, pulling away to grin at him. "You're opening up, kiddo. I'm proud of you."

Kai's blushed from the praise, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "T-thanks."

Yung ran a hand through Kai's hair. "You're my kid, Kai. I'm not putting up with you. I want you here. I wanna see you be happy, because...well because, I love you."

Kai's eyes were definitely shining with tears now. "R-really?" He knew his mother and sister must have loved him, but he couldn't remember it, and no one else ever had.

"Really." Yung's eyes crinkled. "And take as long as you need to say it back, and don't feel guilty that you can't say it right now. That's okay." Yung's soft smile turned into a grin. "Now, I heard Daw was making cookies...Think we should steal some before dinner?"

Kai smiled back at him, his eyes bright. "Yeah. Yeah, let's give it a shot."

So they did, and Daw didn't make it too hard for them to succeed.


End file.
